


Leo vs. The World

by PT_Piranha



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Scott Pilgrim - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, LeoSaku Week 2016, M/M, Necessary OOC, Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:32:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 40,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8912869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PT_Piranha/pseuds/PT_Piranha
Summary: [For LeoSaku Week 2016] In the modern-day Nohr, young Leo lived his life day to day with his annoying roommate and his band, the Rockin' Troopas. But then everything changed when Leo met a certain pink-haired woman. "I guess… if we w-want to see each other, you have to… you have defeat my seven Evil Exes." "...It's really not so bad."





	1. Leo's Precious Little Life

**_Once upon a time, in the distant land of Nohr… Leo was dating a high schooler._ **

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

"You're dating a high schooler?!" a girl asked.

It was just another winter day in the city of Windmire. Snow and slush on the ground, crunching under people's feet, leaking into their socks. The sun still shone through the clouds, as spring would be upon Nohr before long.

In one of Windmire's suburbs, there sat a plain house, with chipped paint on the exterior. Inside that house was a small living room, connected to an even smaller kitchen. Inside that kitchen, three folks sat at the table. A fourth person, a young, blond man in a polo shirt, was in the process of making hot cocoa for himself.

 **Name: Leo  
** **Status: Awesome**

Leo sighed. "Technically, she is an adult." Task completed, Leo sat down to join the others.

A brown-haired young man in a jersey looked over. "Is she hot?"

 **Name: Hinata  
** **Status: The Talent**

"Pffft!" A short young woman with blonde pigtails, wearing all black. "Aren't you, like, 29 years old?"

 **Name: Elise  
** **Status: Little sister**

"I'm 21, Elise."

"In dog years, maybe," Elise taunted. "So you're actually 29."

"That's not even how dog years work."

A tired, younger man with messy hair, wearing a raincoat instead of a winter coat, looked up from playing his 3DS. "So… did you guys, like... make out or something yet?"

 **Name: 'Young' Dwyer  
** **Status: Living here**

"What? No. Nothing like that. I mean, we're not _that_ together," Leo clarified.

Hinata took a drink of his own. "How'd you guys meet?"

"Well…"

…

" _Yaaaaay! School's out! Where's the park- WHOA!" Out in the snow, a girl had dashed out of her school's entrance and crashed right into a loitering Leo._

" _Ow… Watch where you're going!"_

 _**Name: Selkie  
** _ _**Status: Technically an adult** _

" _Hi! Who're you?"_

_Leo stood up, brushing snow off his coat. "Ow… Is my head bleeding?"_

" _Oh, uhh… No?"_

" _Good. Forget this, I'm just gonna go home."_

" _Can I help you get home?" Selkie asked._

_Leo was too focused on the pain in his head. "Huh? Sure, whatever." Then a detail caught his attention- the girl's bushy tail and the ears atop her head. "Oh. You're a Fox."_

" _You mean a Kitsune?"_

" _We call them 'Foxes' in Nohr."_

…

"…and then on the way home, we agreed to go out," Leo explained. "And that's it."

Elise blinked. "…That's it?"

"What?"

"Well I'm proud of ya, man!" Hinata pumped his fist. "It's about time you got back out there! You can't mope over Lu-"

"Don't!" Leo interrupted. He sighed. "But, yeah. It's kind of nice. Selkie's excitable, but otherwise low-maintenance." He began counting with his free hand's fingers. "She doesn't have too much to say about music, she doesn't start fights, she doesn't-"

"Wait, are you just listing all the things you didn't like about L- about your last girlfriend?" Young Dwyer asked.

Leo looked at him. "Hm? No. I… uh… Well, there's the fact that Selkie appreciates everything that I tell her. That's one of her qualities."

"So she doesn't have any of your ex's traits, and she kisses the ground you walk on," Elise summarized. Leo broke eye contact with his sister.

"So, uh, practice, are we doing that today?"

_**DING-DONG!** _

"Oh speak of the devil, Selkie's here right now," Leo got up. "I invited her to listen to us."

Hinata gasped. "Without asking me?! She's gonna find out we suck!"

Leo opened the front door. "Hey, how's it going?"

Selkie attack-hugged him. "Hiiii!"

"Hey. Do you promise to be good?" Leo asked.

"Yes!"

"…No really, do you promise?"

Selkie blinked, still holding onto Leo. "…Yes?"

"Okay, good."

Leo allowed Selkie inside. As the fox girl took off her coat, Hinata and Elise went over to prepare their instruments. Selkie sat next to Young Dwyer on the couch, and Elise commented. "Oh! You didn't say she went to _that_ high school!"

"Wow, cool drums! Can I play on the drums after you?"

Sitting at the drums, Elise shook her head. "Nope. Sorry, but these were real expensive. I can't just let anyone try them."

Leo nodded. "She plays drums. Hinata's the talented one and he plays guitar-"

"Thanks, man!"

"Why aren't I talented? I've been drumming longer than you've been playing bass!" Elise yelled.

"…And I play bass," Leo concluded.

"Wooow." Selkie looked over to Young Dwyer. "And what do you play?"

Young Dwyer did not look up from his 3DS. "Uhh… Right now, Pokemon. Last week it was Planet Robobot… Before that, it was the new Hyrule Warriors… a lotta stuff."

"I've never even heard of those bands!" Selkie exclaimed.

Leo went over and grabbed his bass. "All right, what do we start with, the really loud one? Ignoring that they're all really loud."

"Dude! We're in a rock band! Of course it's gonna be loud!"

Elise triumphantly held up her drumsticks. "Woo! Rockin' Troopas! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR-"

Thus the Rockin' Troopas began to play their music. In those brief moments, the world disappeared for Selkie, and all that existed were the Rockin' Troopas and their song. Hinata sang into the mic.

" _ **Laminate the spaces! Ma-ma-ma-ma serpentine! I've got a breathalyzer... and my body's clean!**_ "

Selkie felt inspired, she saw all sorts of pictures in her head, vivid and colorful images.

_**(P.T. Piranha presents…)** _

_**LEO VS. THE WORLD** _

_Selkie saw a tree growing and withering…  
_ _(Starring Leo as 'Scott Pilgrim')_

 _A crystal ball exploding, revealing a blooming flower…  
_ _(****** as 'Ramona Flowers')_

 _A flying arrow with a dirty grin forming in its wake…  
_ _(***** as 'Wallace Wells')_

 _A skull and cross-bones with the bones falling and skull smiling…  
_ _(***** as 'Lucas Lee')_

 _Black and white stars overlapping…  
_ _(****** as 'Stacey Pilgrim')_

 _A heart appearing and ripping in half…  
_ _(****** as 'Envy Adams')_

 _Drumsticks beating on a violin…  
_ _(Elise as 'Kim Pine')_

 _Angry eyes rapidly looking around…  
_ _(***** as 'Julie Powers')_

 _Five stars in a row, appearing in order…  
_ _(****** as 'Todd Ingram')_

 _Another crystal ball, this one catches fire…  
_ _(***** as 'Gideon Graves')_

 _Four tires, and a fifth appearing in the center…  
_ _(Dwyer as 'Young Neil')_

 _A guitar exploding…  
_ _(Hinata as 'Stephen Stills')_

 _A flower getting cut in half…  
_ _(**** as 'Roxy Richter')_

 _Nine fox tails…  
_ _(Selkie as 'Knives Chau')_

 _A giant X under a spotlight…  
_ _(**** as 'Matthew Patel')_

 _And two ninja stars.  
_ _(**** & ***** as 'Kyle & Ken Katayanagi')_

_(Based on the Scott Pilgrim comic series and the film, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)_

_(Starring characters from Fire Emblem: Fates)_

_(All OOC changes made in good fun)_

_(Please enjoy)_

The band finished, and Selkie was back to reality. Out of breath, Hinata looked to her. "So… What'd you think?"

Young Dwyer remained lost in his video game, but Selkie was absolutely stunned.

"That was…"

Hinata looked nervous. Elise appeared curious. Leo seemed indifferent.

"…so cooooooool…"

The guitarist turned over to Leo, saying, "I like her. She's nice." Elise nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Month: (Mid-Late) March**

That night, Leo walked up to a concrete wall in between two urban houses. The only decoration was a small, rundown mailbox, and two spits of grass on each side of the path leading to the door. Leo entered.

"Hey. I'm just gonna say it. Yes I am dating a high schooler, no it's not creepy, she is technically an adult," Leo announced.

The apartment was incredibly small. The living room and kitchen were as one, divided by a counter. The bathroom was the only other room. Apart from a TV on a bookshelf, the only furniture consisted of a mattress, an armchair, and a refrigerator. In the armchair sat a dark-skinned blond in pajamas. He had one eye closed as he looked up from reading a newspaper.

"Aww, Leo and the high schooler. Is he cute?"

 **Name: Niles  
** **Status: A solid 7/10**

Leo rolled his eyes, setting his coat on the hanger. But his roommate was not done. "So I guess we don't get to sleep together anymore."

"You know that mattress was originally mine, right?" Leo walked into the bathroom.

Niles returned to browsing the paper. "Yeah. That and not much else."

 **Leo Ownership: Mattress, Coat, Books (4), Toothbrush, Laptop  
** **Niles Ownership: Blanket, Pillows (2), Better Coat, Mini Fridge (+ food), Coat Hanger, Armchair, Toothbrush, TV, Bookshelf, Wall Lamp, Video Games (14), SNES**

"Ah. How's that for irony? The bigshot know-it-all, and he owns less than half of a run-down hole in the wall," Niles commented. "How the mighty have fallen."

By that time, Leo exited the bathroom and plopped down on the mattress. "Whatever. I had a long day, Hinata started freaking out." His eyes shifted toward Niles. "Hey, could you not mention Selkie to my older sisters?"

"Aw Leo. You know me."

"That's why I'm asking."

Niles chuckled. "Well I'm sure Elise will post about it anyway."

Leo shot right back up. "Oh gods you're right." _**HERE I COME, ROUGHER THAN THE REST OF THEM-**_ "Aah!" Leo answered his phone. "Hello?"

" _Leo, are you serious?"_ a feminine voice asked on the other line.

Leo sighed. "Hi, Corrin. To what do I owe this call?"

" _Ugh! Are you really dating a high schooler?_ "

The boy's eyes shifted. "…Where might you have heard that? Elise?"

" _Niles texted me, duh!_ " Leo turned to glare at Niles, but the man just kept reading his newspaper with a dark grin. Ultimately, the younger shook his head. " _Look, Leo, I guess it's legal, but… I have to ask, did you-_ "

"H-hey! No, we haven't… She likes to hug me by surprise, but that's it. I barely hold hands with her." He laid back down. "Now, I'm very tired. Is the interrogation over?"

For a few seconds, the phone was silent. But then… " _Leo, are you over it? Over L-_ " Corrin cut herself off and sighed- " _over your last girlfriend? Or is this some weird thing you're doing?_ "

"I don't want to talk about it. Goodnight."

He could hear Corrin sigh again. " _All right. Goodnight. I love you."_

"Yeah…" Leo hung up and shut his eyes. "I hate you, Niles."

"I love you too."

* * *

"I hate you, Leo."

Leo smirked. "What's the matter, Niles? I thought you liked animal boys."

The two stood outside Selkie's school, as several students exited. All had animal traits, and some required less winter protection than others. Notably, Niles had donned sunglasses since he was in public. It could not be seen, but he glared at Leo. "This is shady, even for me. I'd think twice about dating an innocent high schooler... Although-"

"Hiiii!" Selkie recognized Leo and got him with another attack hug. "Hi Leo!"

"Good afternoon." Leo had Selkie let go of him so he could gesture to Niles. "Selkie, this is my roommate Niles. He once had a dream about wolf men."

"I'm not ashamed of it, but why is that always the first thing you say about me?" Niles asked. He then shook his head and grabbed Selkie's hands. "You're too good for this man. Run away from him."

"Okay that's enough."

"Run far away from him."

"Enough, Niles!"

Niles let go and walked off. "Whatever. So I'm gonna drive us to the mall? Like I'm the captain of this sinking ship?"

* * *

Leo and Selkie browsed the mall's music store. "Wow, I didn't even know there were so many bands! This is fun!"

"Yes, there are a lot of bands."

Selkie perked up when she saw a nearby employee, a cranky-looking woman with dark blue hair. "Hey! Hey! Do you have anything by River City Random?"

The employee glared. "You mean River City _Ransom_? Check the R section. Stupid…"

 **Name: Oboro  
** **Status: Begrudgingly saving for her own shop**

Leo winced and called after Selkie, herself already heading off. "Uh, don't listen to them, Selkie. They're not that good. Their singer is a heartless-"

"So Leo. Robbing cradles now?" Oboro asked.

"…Nice to see you too, Oboro."

"So are you and the rest of Hinata's band coming to my party tomorrow night or what?"

Leo tilted his head. "Didn't you break up?"

"And then we got back together. Pay attention!"

"Ugh…"

Oboro smirked to herself as she began to place CDs on the shelf. "Maybe if Selkie listens to enough River City Ransom, she'll get the right idea and leave you behind. Just like Lu-"

"Nice to see you, Oboro, time to go!" Leo began to escape. "Selkie, we're leaving!"

* * *

_Leo lied in the center of a snow field, flat on his back. He stared dully at the snowfall. "Ugh… I can't do anything right… I'm going to die alone…"_

_A short, pink-haired woman roller-skated past the troubled young man. She wore a white coat, red skirt and white leggings. "Sorry! I just had to come through, don't mind me!"_

_Leo sat up. "Wait, what? What's going on? And how are you skating in the snow?"_

" _Aah! I'm sorry! You're dreaming, I d-didn't mean to interrupt it!"_

" _That's okay, I hate this dream," Leo assured. "Wait, are you part of my dream? Can you stay?"_

"Aaah!" Leo woke with a fright. "Ugh… Crazy dream."

Right next to him on the mattress, Niles woke up, sans sunglasses. "Something wrong, Leo?"

"No… Just…"

"Can you guys keep it down?" A plain-looking man woke up on Niles' other side. Niles turned to him.

"Something wrong, Other Leo?"

 **Name: Other Leo  
** **Status: A Leo who is not our Leo**

"Yeah, you and your boyfriend are keeping me awake," Other Leo complained.

"Pffft. He wishes he was mine," Niles said. "I'm afraid we're stuck together."

The main Leo merely blinked. "Something felt… _different_ about that dream…"

* * *

"Heels & Wheels?" Leo asked. "Is this a shoe store?" He and Selkie stood outside a building on Main Street, on another bright winter morning.

"Uh-huh! I need new shoes!" said Selkie. Leo hung his head back.

"Shoes… and wheels… You know, I think I had a dream last night about someone skating-"

"Let's go!" Selkie cried, dragging Leo by the arm.

"Hey!"

As Leo was brought into the store against his will, he noticed a girl passing him on the way out. Leo's eyes widened, recognizing her as the girl from his dreams. But before Leo could say anything, she had left.

* * *

"What are we doing again?" Leo asked, following Hinata, Elise and Young Dwyer on the sidewalk that night.

"Oboro's party, man!" Hinata explained. "If we play our cards right, Oboro can get us into the Battle of the Bands at Emery's!"

Elise looked over. "Emery's? That old cupcake place? Ooh! I hope they still have the giant cupcakes!"

"I forgot, how does Oboro have any pull at Emery's?" Leo asked.

"She works there," Young Dwyer answered immediately. "Keep up."

…

Oboro's apartment was crowded, everyone waited around and mingled amongst themselves. Leo and Young Dwyer had gravitated toward the back of the living room, each with their own cups. Leo sighed. "This party's a waste of time."

"Mmm."

The blond looked at his phone for time. "I'm bored. I'm going to find the restroom."

As Leo left, Young Dwyer just blinked. "…I gotta pee."

But while Leo made his way to the restroom, his peripheral vision picked up on a certain shade of pink. Nearly passing her, Leo stopped and observed the mystery girl from his dreams. She stood in the corner, eyes darting about the room, quickly taking sips from her cup. Quickly, Leo cleared his throat, checked his hair, and made sure his shoes were on the right feet. All set, he slunk over to the wall beside the girl.

"Um… Good evening."

"Huh?!" She looked over. "O-oh. Hi…"

"Um…" Leo took a drink. His cup was empty, but she did not need to know. "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. And I'm in a band."

**Achievement Unlocked: Worst Pickup Line**

"O-oh…"

Leo blinked. "Uh! I meant…"

"Um… I-I'm sorry, but… your shirt…"

"Hm?"

The girl avoided eye contact with Leo. "Your shirt. It's… I think it's inside-out…"

He gasped and began examining himself to be sure. Leo's shirt was indeed inside-out, but the girl took this chance regardless. She quietly left him alone to sort himself out.

…

"Young Dwyer!"

"Aah!" the boy screamed, moments away from sleeping while standing. "What?"

"She's real!"

"Huh?"

"The girl from my dream!"

"Wait, what?"

"Is my sister here?"

Young Dwyer rolled his eyes. "Elise came with us. Stupid."

"No, my… Augh!"

Leo abandoned Young Dwyer and began the hunt. He searched the entire party for his sister, until he finally found her.

The first things people noticed about Corrin were her unusual hair and eyes. The second would be that black and white striped sweater she wore every day, to the point where Leo suspected she had copies. She almost looked like a prisoner. The third thing would be her flipflops, worn even into the winter.

 **Name: Corrin  
** **Status: Everyone's mutual friend**

"Corrin!"

Leo's sister looked away from her conversation. "Huh? Oh hey Leo."

The bassist held a drawing of the mystery girl, though it was more of a scribble atop a wonky circle. "Do you know who this girl is?"

"Oh! It's Sakura! She's a real nice girl, she moved here from Hoshido."

"She's Hoshidan?"

"Is that surprising? There are a lot of Hoshidan-Nohrians in this neighborhood. But yeah. I think she and Oboro know each other. But why-"

"Okay thanks, bye!" Leo ran off, leaving Corrin confused. The last thing he wanted was his older sister doting about him showing feelings for a girl. So it went, Leo once again searched the party for a certain someone. He figured it would be easy to find Oboro with Hinata, with how loud Hinata tended to be.

"Oboro, do you know anything about a girl named Sakura?"

Oboro and Hinata stood together, both holding cups. The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know her. She works at the shoe store. Sometimes she comes into my work to brainstorm ideas I can use for my designs."

"The CD store?" Hinata asked.

"No, the coffee shop!" She then turned to Leo, giving him an evil glare. "Leo, I'm warning you. I forbid you to go after Sakura. She doesn't need you to hurt her, and I don't care if it's been a year since your last date!"

Hinata put a comforting arm around Oboro. "Whoa there! No need to worry, Oboro! Leo's dating a pretty young, pretty foxy, pretty lady! He's good!"

Leo blinked. "…I am?" He swore internally, remembering Selkie's existence. "Oh yeah… Yep, doing fine there… Not… interested in… Sakura at all."

Leo would proceed to stalk Sakura from a distance until she left the party.

* * *

The lights came on as Niles (with shades) entered the apartment. "Guess who's drunk!"

Leo moaned, half asleep. "Ugh… Is it you?"

"Got that right!" Niles plopped down on the mattress… sideways.

"My legs, aah! Niles!"

"Zzzz…"

He let out a sigh. "Great… Not like I was getting up anyway. I'll just think about that girl from the party…" He yawned. "That'll help me doze off…" _**HERE I COME, ROUGHER THAN THE REST OF THEM-**_ "Aah! I have to change that ringtone!" Leo answered the phone. "Hello?"

" _Leo, are you thinking about juggling two girls?_ " Corrin accused.

"Uh, no! Did you get that impression when I asked about Sakura?"

" _No, Niles texted me!_ "

Leo looked, noticing that Niles had his phone open, even though he was asleep on Leo's legs. "That doesn't… But… How-"

" _Look. From what I've heard, Sakura's a nice girl. But if you want to date her, you should at least break up with that high school Fox! You really want to be like Dad?_ "

He winced. "Uh… No. Look, I have a lot on my mind, can we pick this up later? Good, love you, bye." Leo hung up and glared at Niles. After that, he shook his head and began to reclaim his sleep.

* * *

"Niles!"

"Aah!" Niles startled awake, lying in the same position he had been the night before. Leo had gotten dressed and moved to the armchair, browsing his laptop. "Ugh… What do you want?"

"What was the name of that store that sells the heels that have wheels in them?"

"…Heels & Wheels?"

"Okay, says here it normally opens at 10:30. C'mon, I need you to drive me."

Niles clutched his own head. "Leo, I'm feeling kind of-"

* * *

The two sat in Niles' car, waiting in a parking lot across the street from Heels & Wheels. Leo turned to him. "So how are you able to drive with sunglasses and only one good eye?"

"We've been friends for years, and you only just now ask? I have a better question: what are we doing here?"

Leo returned to focusing on the shoe store. "Well the store's gonna open any minute now. That girl Sakura will show up. Then, say, fifteen minutes after she comes in to work, I'll come in, claiming I'm looking for some new shoes. We'll get to talking and it'll be smooth sailing. That's how the ancestors did it. Have three conversations, then fall in love."

Niles blinked/winked under his sunglasses. "You… do know that it's 11:00 right now, right?"

"What?! I wonder what-" _**Ping!**_ Leo fished his phone from his pocket. "I wonder why no one's come… Huh, I don't recognize this address." Shrugging, he skimmed the email out loud. "Dear Mr. Leo… woman of interest… League infraction… challenge you… Oh gods this is some kind of game advertisement, isn't it? I thought I unsubscribed." Niles shrugged as Leo deleted the email and got out of the car. "I'm gonna go see what the deal is."

Leo looked both ways, then crossed the street. Leo tried to open the door, but a message window appeared right in front of him.

_**[It seems this door is locked. You'll need a key to open it.]** _

"Locked? But shouldn't it be open today?" His eyes widened. "Wait…" He strafed over to one of the store's windows and saw a sign. "Closed on Mondays?! Who closes on Monday?!"

* * *

At band practice, Hinata clapped his hands, facing his band mates and Selkie, all sitting on the couch. "Okay, guys! Big announcement!"

"What is it?!" Elise and Selkie excitedly asked at once.

"Yeah. What?" Young Dwyer emotionlessly asked.

"We're gonna play the Battle of the Bands against Double Dragon! _The_ Double Dragon!"

Selkie inhaled more than necessary. "Double Dragon! Those guys are so cool! I like to work out to their songs!"

"Wait, aren't we little known compared to Double Dragon?" Leo asked. "How'd this even happen?"

Hinata palmed his face. "Leo, stop zoning out! It's the gig at Emery's! I got Oboro to have us replace the other band! It was at the party, while you were standing in the corner with Young Dwyer!"

"I'm Young Dwyer," the boy greeted. He then opened his 3DS to the tune of the TM jingle from Pokemon. "Oh hey, new TM."

"Okay, then. What time?" Leo returned to the subject at hand.

"Tomorrow night!"

"Tomorrow night?!" Elise repeated. "We have to rehearse! We can't let Double Dragon beat us! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" Elise ran over to the drums and began, though neither Hinata nor Leo had their guitars. Selkie nodded resolutely.

"I'll cheer you guys on!"

* * *

The next day, Leo finally made it back to Heels & Wheels, but this time Niles refused to take him. He had to take the bus, then walk down five blocks to get to the shoe store. He walked inside and began searching for Sakura.

To Leo's surprise, she was actually behind the counter. She appeared to be reading something. Leo accepted that, it allowed him time to find some shoes. "Okay… Size 9, Size 9… Good!" Leo grabbed the first Size 9 shoes he could find, bright purple ones. They did not match any of his clothes, but he had claimed them, holding them above his head.

**[You found Size 9 Shoes! Equip them with X, Y or Z to dash like the wind!]**

Quickly, the boy made it to the counter. "Yes hello my name is Leo and I would like to purchase these shoes."

"Huh?!" Sakura looked up from her book. "O-oh! I'm sorry, I… I didn't hear you come in!"

 **Name: Sakura  
** **Status: Unknown**

He nodded, not really paying attention. "Oh, yeah, it's fine, no problem, I just want the shoes, my name is Leo, do you want to meet later?"

She blinked. "I… What was that last part?"

The blond winced. "Ah. I just realized how forward that sounded. Ahem… But really though, would you like to?"

"You seem familiar…" Sakura whispered. She gasped. "You were at Oboro's party! Uh… Sorry, but which one were you again?"

Leo began to sweat. "Uh, it's not quite important. But, uh, I think I've been here before and I might've seen you. And then the night before that you appeared in my dream and you were skating, but it was snowing in the dream, but we hadn't met yet- Oh gods I sound insane."

Sakura covered her mouth. "Ohhhh! Oh gods I'm so sorry!"

"What?"

The pink-haired girl hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry! See, I travel in and out of the Astral Plane, a-and I use that to get to work faster! B-but it's sort of connected to people's minds… and I must've passed through yours."

That was some new information for Leo. "The Astral Plane?"

"Y-yes. The Astral Dragons used to occupy that realm, b-but now regular people can, if they learn how. I must've messed up…" She scrunched her face in shame before taking a deep breath. "S-so you wanted some new shoes!"

"Uh… Sure. But if I buy them, we won't get to speak anymore."

Sakura nervously looked out the window. "Well… that's how it works."

Leo had to think of something. He scratched the back of his head. "Well… Hmm… Oh! I heard from my sister that you're not from around here. Hoshidan, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, I remember now. I know a lot of people in this neighborhood, and you're not one of them, so you couldn't have been here very long. I could… show you around…" He looked back and forth between Sakura and the window. "There are… reasons. To hang out. With me."

The clerk sat in silence for a few minutes. If a pin were dropped, one could hear it. After a solid two minutes, she spoke. "Well… you have a point. D-did you have a time in mind?"

"How about… 8:00, in the park?"

* * *

**Windmire Dusk Park – 8:00PM**

Sakura sat on a bench, in full winter gear. She looked over and caught Leo walking up to her. "Oh. You actually showed up. I… wasn't sure you would."

"Well, you were going to help me… help me get familiar with town, right?" Her eyebrows lowered. "I-I have Freeze Spray if I need to use it."

"Ah! No, no, that's what we agreed on." Leo rapidly nodded. "Let's start with the park."

…

Dusk Park was rather large. On the tour, Leo would explain little landmarks and some nearby buildings, while Sakura would nod attentively. Eventually, Sakura's questions became less about Windmire and more about her talkative companion.

"So what do you do for a living?" Sakura asked.

Leo looked over at her. "That? Well I… used to work at the convenience store near my apartment, before it got shut down. A wyvern wrecked the place, and apparently it was already on the verge of closing, so they never bothered to reopen. Now… I perform in a band…."

She smiled. "Y-you were the one with the inside-out shirt, weren't you?"

Leo looked back ahead. "Oh look, a different topic! So here's a here statue of the Dusk Dragon. In ancient times, it's believed the dragon created Nohr. Now it just looks cool."

"You don't still honor the dragons in Nohr?" Sakura asked.

"Depends on the family." He narrowed his eyes. "After that wyvern incident, I'm not real big on dragons." Leo winced. "Uh, unless you are, of course. I'm sure dragons are… decent. My older sisters really like them. Uh, how'd you end up here?"

Sakura frowned. "I… didn't want to stay in Hoshido anymore. S-so I reached out to my pen pal, and she talked about a place here in your country and a job."

"Ah. I see," Leo said. "Is there a problem in Hoshido? Didn't you guys have a volcano incident lately?"

She gave him a look. "What? N-no, nothing like that. It's just… It was personal." Sakura saw a swing set and immediately made her way toward one of the unoccupied seats. "By the way I'm sorry, again… You know, about… appearing in your dream."

Leo walked over by the swing set. He looked around, shrugged, and sat on the other swing. "No worries. It's not like you saw my innermost thoughts." Sakura blushed, and Leo's eyebrows shot up. "Okay, bad sign." His expression became an apprehensive wince. "What did you see?"

"N-not a lot! I just…" Though her head faced forward, Sakura's eyes turned to meet Leo's. "Is… there a reason you were sharing a bed with… with two other men? I-I don't mean to judge you, it's just…"

"Ugh…" Leo let go of the chains and rested both palms on his face. "Yes, I know how that looks. We only have space for one mattress, and Niles… doesn't have many reservations."

Then, it began to snow, and Sakura smiled. "Oh! Snow! It's snowing!" She held out her hand, wishing to catch a snowflake.

"Hm? Yeah. It's almost April, but it's not unreasonable."

"Well, we didn't… we didn't get a lot of snow back in my hometown." She turned her eyes to the ground. "I don't even know if I've seen it or not."

Leo turned his head. "Really? Well, hope you enjoy it."

* * *

Leo and Sakura sat on a couch, shivering intensely, with blankets around both their shoulders. The Nohrian turned to the Hoshidan. "S-s-sorry ab-about the blizzard… D-didn't expect it…"

"I…I know…"

**Leo & Sakura – Status Ailment: Freezing (may not attack this turn due to shivering)**

"I'll… get us some tea…" Sakura stood up to find the kitchen.

Leo took the time to examine Sakura's house. It was a nice place, Leo thought. Smallish, but still larger than his apartment. There were some distinctly Hoshidan decorations; he observed a bonsai tree beside the television, and some paper fans on the wall. But other than those, the place resembled an average Windmire home.

The young man yawned, and felt his eyes grow heavy. Leo barely registered Sakura announcing the tea before sleep took hold.

…

_**Ping!** _

"Aaah!"

"Eek!"

Leo and Sakura woke with a fright. It took a moment for Leo to recognize that he was not in his apartment. No, there was more space, he was on a couch, there were decorations, and someone's head was on his shoulder. Sakura quickly sat up. "O-oh! S-sorry! I… must've d-dozed off…"

Leo looked out the window. "It's... daytime? Oh… yeah… I remember. We were going to have tea, but I suppose I dozed off first."

Sakura nodded. "Y-you still seemed cold, so I put another blanket on you, and then… I got tired, and…"

"I see." Leo smiled. "You know, that… that was nice. Last night. Even with the blizzard. Or because of it- I mean… We should meet up again sometime."

The pink-haired young woman had already gotten up to fetch the cups of cold tea, but she called out to Leo. "Well, we never did finish our… our tour. Did you have any ideas?"

Leo merely shrugged. "Uhh… Oh! My band is going to perform at Emery's tonight. It's a… Well, it's a cupcake place. But there'll be-"

"Cupcakes?" Leo picked up a slight tinge of excitement in Sakura's voice. "I… That is… Your band?" He could not see her, but he figured she was blushing. Leo nodded.

"Yeah, the Rockin' Troopas. The name wasn't my idea. We're doing a Battle of the Bands against these guys, Double Dragon. It's tonight, but if you're unavailable-"

"I actually have today off," Sakura's voice carried. "I-I'd love to go. I've heard some Nohrian music, it sounds e-exciting."

Leo internally fist pumped. "All right then." He opened his phone. The phone message that had woken him was yet another spam, telling him of an imminent battle and a point of no return. Leo promptly deleted it before going over to his contacts. "How about we add each other on our phones?"

* * *

**Emery's Cupcakes**  
**Featured Event: Battle of the Bands (Double Dragon vs. The Rockin' Troopas)**  
**Treasures: Cupcake, Giant Cupcake, Mythril Cupcake (rare)  
** **Random Encounters: None**

Emery's was a two-story cupcake store. The first floor had the stage and a counter where a clerk vended cupcakes. There were a few small tables, suitable for two or maybe three guests. Leo and several friends had gathered on the second floor balcony, with similar tables and no clerk.

"Niles, thanks for being here," Leo said. His friend nodded.

"Leo, hi!" Corrin greeted. Leo turned to find his sister walking hand-in-hand with a young man. "See Silas? I told you we'd make it. Besides, Double Dragon's on first."

"Silas?" Leo asked.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend Silas."

 **Name: Silas  
** **Status: Corrin's BF**

Silas nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Niles grinned. "Silas, eh? So Corrin, you know what they say about men with cowlicks, right?"

"Niles don't," the siblings said at once.

Sakura walked up to the group, munching on a giant cupcake. "I'm back. Oh, hi Corrin." She nodded instead of waving, her hands busy with the giant snack. "This place has good food…"

"Oh, Sakura, I didn't know you'd be here!" Corrin said with a smile. "Wait, are you here for Double Dragon or-"

"LEO!"

The bassist tensed up as Selkie appeared at the top of the steps. She tackle-hugged Leo and pecked him on the cheek. Corrin stared toward Leo with suspicion. Sakura glanced curiously at Corrin. Leo looked nervously toward Sakura. Niles watched an inattentive Silas with anticipation.

"Well…" Leo lightly pushed Selkie off him. "…Gotta go!" With that, Leo hurried down the stairs, almost tripping twice.

* * *

In the greenroom, Hinata paced, while Elise and Young Dwyer sat on the couch. Young Dwyer was, once more, playing a video game. Elise raised her hand. "Did you ever learn anything about Double Dragon?"

"No!" Hinata responded. "I don't get it! How'd they get so popular without anybody knowing anything?"

Elise looked over at Leo. Her brother was busy creeping his head onto the stage, eyes fixed on the balcony. "Leo? Are you with us? Did you see something?" On the balcony, he observed Corrin and Sakura talking to each other. Selkie was sitting too close to Corrin for Leo's own comfort. "Leo? Hello?"

" _All righty, ladies and gentlemen,_ " a relaxed voice announced. " _Please give it up for Double Dragon. Yeah._ "

Two young men walked onto the stage, while a wyvern flew in and rested behind the drums. Hinata and Elise both bore witness to this.

"They have a wyvern for a drummer?!" Elise shrieked.

Hinata began to hyperventilate. "That's it, we're over!"

Onstage, one of the human bandmates grabbed the mic. "Good evening. We're Double Dragon."

In the balcony, Niles cupped his hands around his mouth. "THEN HOW COME THERE'S ONLY ONE DRAGON?"

The guitarist glared. "Because _up yours_. That's why."

Niles smirked. "AT LEAST TAKE ME TO DINNER FIRST!" He looked over. "You'd do that, right Silas?"

"…What?"

"Don't listen to him," Corrin warned.

Then the guitarist regained his composure. "Our first song is called, _Ask Me Why I Mourn_. Ahem…"

The wyvern began to play, and the guitarists soon followed.

" _ **None of your business!"**_

That was it, the song ended. The guitarist nodded. "Thank you."

One person clapped, while Niles… "I SNEEZED, CAN YOU DO THE SONG AGAIN?"

The guitarist glared. "All right, this next song is for the guy with sunglasses in the balcony. It's called, _You're Ugly And I Hope You Die_."

Niles grinned. "Aww, they shouldn't have."

The song began.

" _ **My own little world!"  
**_ " _ **Mutual sight, mutual sound. Mutual struggle- for shared ground."**_

The bassist joined in.

" _ **It's safe to say, they'll try to take from me-"**_

Then the lead returned.

" _ **I'm just another one for them to break down."  
**_ " _ **Steeped in denial, the daily grind- dream of a world for me and my kind."**_

Bassist returned.

" _ **It's safe in the… alternate reality."**_

Lead nodded pointed at Niles.

" __ **So stick your standards where the sun doesn't SHINE!"  
** " __ **THEY'RE FOR THEMSELVES, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THEY SAY! PROMISE THE WORLD, THEN TAKE IT FROM YOU ANYWAY!"  
** " **THEY'LL BREAK YOU DOWN, MAKING YOUR VISION FADE AWAY! IT'S TIME TO GO! Get outta my space!"  
**_"_ **Welcome to a world where the air I breathe is mine-"**

Backstage, Hinata resumed pacing, his voice barely audible. He was saying something along the lines of, 'No, it's all over now! We can't possibly win! Listen to these guys! I should've stuck to just fencing! That's all I'm good at! Why did I think I could play guitar?! Elise, I'm sorry! Leo, I'm- Leo, stop just standing there! C'mon man, you're freaking me out! Leo for the love of the gods, say something would ya?!' or something like that.

" _ **-We will never die!**_ …Thank you."

The audience cheered, and Leo gasped. Selkie was beginning to talk to Sakura. "Hi! Are you one of Leo's friends? I'm Selkie!"

Sakura had already finished her cupcake. A few crumbs were on her mouth. "Oh. Hi. M-my name is Sakura."

Leo winced, then turned back to Hinata, grabbing his shoulders. "Hinata! We need to perform right now and really loud!"

"You're right!"

* * *

With lightning speed, Leo, Elise and Hinata all took their positions on the stage. Young Dwyer had joined them, though he mainly stood to the side and contributed nothing. The calm voice returned to announce, " _And now our second act of the evening, the Rockin' Troopas._ "

"So I ran into him outside school and-" Selkie gasped. "ROCKIN' TROOPAS! YAY! This is so exciting, I think I'll-" Selkie fainted before she could finish. Sakura frowned.

"Oh. Oh dear… Should we-"

"Don't worry about it," Niles told her.

"C'mon Leo and Elise! …And Hinata!" Corrin cheered.

"WOO! WE'RE THE ROCKIN' TROOPAS!" screamed Elise. "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

The three began playing, and Hinata wasted no time with the lyrics.

" _ **ALL ABOOOOOOARD! Hahahaha!"**_

Hinata, Leo and Elise began playing in earnest, and Hinata returned with more lyrics.

" __ **Crazy… but that's how it goes!"**  
"Millions of people… living as foes!"  
" __ **Maybe… it's not too late…"  
** " __ **To learn how to love, and forget how to hate!"**  
" **Mental wounds not healing! Life's a bit-ter shame!"**  
" **I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!"  
** " **I'm going off the rails-"**

_**CRASH!** _

A man in yellow spandex with a cape crashed through the ceiling. "A FALLEN HERO ARRIVES!"

He landed dramatically on the first floor, a few meters from the stage. Slowly, the intruder stood up. From the balcony, Sakura gasped. The man held his arm dramatically toward the Troopas. "Mr. Leo! I hope fate finds you prepared! I… am Odin Dark!"

 **Name: Odin Dark  
** **Status: Edgy/10**

"Now we engage in our duel to the death! Prepare for… ELDRITCH SMACKDOWN!"

Odin leapt into the air, fists glowing and ready to pound Leo. In that moment, all eyes were on the bassist, and time slowed to a crawl.

" **Whaaat diiid I doooo?** "

Niles shook his head and called out to Leo. " **JUUST** **FIIIIIGHT HIIIIIIM!** "

Time resumed. Leo quickly unplugged the bass and threw it to the nearest person (Young Dwyer), and clapped his hands. They were coated in magic and Leo put his fists up to block the incoming opponent. Leo then stepped back and swung his arms, creating tree roots to push Odin off the stage and onto the floor. "Aaaah!"

Leo dusted his palms and went over to the edge of the stage. Elise giggled. "Heehee! He should know better than to fight Leo. He's the toughest guy in Windmire!"

"Yep, that Odin guy is screwed," Hinata said.

Up in the balcony, Niles nodded. "Leo's been favoring the Brynhildr spell. Hope he's not getting too lazy."

Corrin just looked horrified. "Am… Am I missing something? How does Leo know this guy?!"

On the floor, Odin stuck his legs in the air, leading into a dramatic flip, bringing himself back onto his feet. He dusted off his costume. "Well, well, well. You were prepared indeed!"

_**BOSS: ODIN DARK** _

Niles called down to Leo again. "HEY LEO. I BET THIS HAS TO DO WITH THAT EMAIL YOU GOT."

Leo winced. "Oh yeah… that… Probably should've read it."

"What?! You didn't read it?! But… but I put so much work into that email!" Odin whined.

"Well, I kinda thought it was spam… Look, I didn't recognize the address. Would _you_ answer that email?"

Odin folded his arms. "Uh… Yes! Heartless miscreation… How dare you! HYA!"

The man suddenly hurled a giant fireball in Leo's direction. The boy jumped over it in time, and Elise ducked behind the drums. Leo's dodging brought him down to the floor. Before Odin could attack again, Leo ran toward him and slid on the ground. When he was close enough, Leo threw an uppercut punch, sending Odin skyward. But before he could hit the ground, Leo upper-punched him again, keeping the mage airborne. _**+100pts!**_ This went on for a few minutes.

**_+200pts!_ **

**_+300pts!_ **

**_+400pts!_ **

"What's he doing?" Silas asked.

Before Corrin could explain, Niles leaned closer to the man. "Leo's juggling him. It's one of his favorite ways of whittling the other guy's health down."

"What's with that guy's outfit?" Young Dwyer asked, still holding Leo's bass.

Finally, Leo got bored and allowed Odin to crash to the floor. "Gaaaah!" But even then, Odin got back up and struck a pose. "I… I underestimated you! Now our fight begins in earnest!"

"Why are we fighting again?" Leo asked.

Odin dropped the stance. "Uh… Y'know, the emai- Oh yeah you ignored that. Ahem!" The boisterous man resumed his pose. "I am Odin Dark! And I am Sakura's first! Evil! Ex! Boyfriend! Haha!"

"Her what?" Leo looked up at Sakura, as did everyone else. "What's he talking about?!"

Sakura moaned in embarrassment. "Well…" She stood up, placing her hands on the rails. "H-he and I used to go out… back in Grade Seven. Th-there were these guys who kept trying to flirt with me. But I told them I wasn't interested. They wouldn't listen, though, so Owain appeared and beat them up… w-with his magic. Then I learned how to fight, a-and we got revenge later."

Corrin gave her a confused look.

"After that, Owain and I dated f-for a week," Sakura explained. "But it just didn't work out. And I guess he just sort of changed his name later."

Leo blinked. "…Well… That's interesting."

"Enough!" Odin interrupted. "Didn't work out? You feared me and left without another word! But no matter." The mage cleared his throat. "It is time for me to finish this!" He began to dance, snapping his fingers. _**"If you want to fight me…!"**_ Corrin shook her head. " _ **Ha!**_ _**Then come and get it! You thought you could beat me, but now you'll regreeeeeeet it!**_ "

Odin began to levitate as he sang, summoning phantoms of young women in similar clothing to him. Hinata gasped.

" _ **Here is my greatest spell! And, oh, my blood, it aches!**_ "

" _Kill him, Daddy!_ " the phantoms whispered. Odin nodded.

" _ **Now take your last bow, before your spine breaks!"**_

" _B-R-eaks!"_

" _ **BLOOD FLAMES, GO!**_ " Odin threw a fireball at Leo and the audience near him. Most of them ducked, except for Double Dragon's members. " _ **Burn him to a crisp!**_ _**(Crisp!) Now he'll know that, we're not all just talk!**_ "

Leo glared. "That doesn't even rhyme!" He grabbed a plate off a table and hurled it at Odin's head. "HA!"

"Gaaah!" Odin clutched his head and spun in pain as his backup dancers evaporated. Leo leapt into the air, fist pulled back. He threw his punch, connecting with Odin's face, sending him flying back, onto the ground.

_**KO!** _

_**+1000 pts!** _

Defeated at last, Odin became a pile of coins. Leo landed nearby and pocketed some. "Don't mind if I do…"

Up in the balcony, Sakura quickly made her exit. "Uh, I have to go! It was nice meeting all of you. C-Corrin, tell Niles and his boyfriend I said goodbye please!"

In confusion, Corrin turned her head and caught Niles and Silas smooching. The red-eyed woman groaned. "Really, Niles?! Again?!"

Downstairs, Sakura ran up to Leo and dragged him by the arm. "What? Hey, where are we going?"

"We need to talk!"

* * *

On an otherwise passenger-free bus, Leo and Sakura sat somewhere close to the back. Leo tapped his fingers together repeatedly in anxiety. "…Sakura, what was that all about?"

Sakura merely sighed, and turned to face Leo. "Well… I didn't think this would happen, but… I guess… if we w-want to see each other, you have to… you have defeat my seven Evil Exes."

Leo blinked. "…Your… seven evil ex-boyfri-"

"Exes. Yes."

"And… I have to fight them?" he asked.

"Y-you have to _defeat_ them," Sakura corrected

"Oh. And, they're all evil? Are they all in town now? What's going to happen?"

She merely ducked her head down in shame. "I-I don't know! I didn't think it would actually happen! I'm sorry about this, I didn't mean to put you in danger!"

Leo thought he could see a faint purple glow around Sakura's head, but dismissed it as exhaustion and a trick of the light. "It's not really so bad. They'll come, I'll defend myself, they'll leave, and it'll all be over. And I'll get some money out of this, if that Odin guy is an example. Besides, you said you didn't know this would happen. But…" Leo folded his arms. "I have a question."

Sakura looked up at Leo. "Y-yes?"

"…Does this mean we're a couple now?"

"I… I guess so?"

"Do… do you want to be a couple?"

"…Yes."

**[CHAPTER 1 CLEAR! WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE?]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So have you noticed a lot of people writing fics about Leo and Sakura yesterday? Yeah it's this thing called "LeoSaku Week". Eh, I'm down with that pairing and a few of my author friends are too, so I thought I'd join in. But... what do I do? I thought about a slice of life modern thing like Lavender's Girl Next Door (which I believe rebooted yesterday). But then I thought "what if there were boss fights?" Then I realized it would just be Scott Pilgrim. But hey I like Scott Pilgrim, so why not?
> 
> So how would I divide this up? The movie doesn't neatly divide the story arcs like the comics do. But I hadn't read the comics. So guess what? I spent a good chunk of my dwindling money to buy the comic box set, so I can read them and write this fic. This is now the most expensive fic I've ever written. You know I'm taking this seriously now.
> 
> (Also I wanted the comics for a few years now, so it worked out.)
> 
> That said, this will actually blend comic and movie elements, so it won't just be restricted to one.
> 
> Here's another thing: most Modern AUs of Fates do not take advantage of the fact that it's Fates. They just put the characters in a modern setting and call it a day. And that's fine, the plot is serviced. But I wanted to take it a step further. There are wyverns, they are in Nohr, magic exists, etc. But it's also modern times. And for a Scott Pilgrim-based story, I think that helps hold everything together.
> 
> Now, about the casting:
> 
> I do not resent any non-Leo/Sakura pairings. To be honest, I'm not one of those fans who gets up in arms. I don't even ship much outside of Fates. But like I said, all character personality changes are done just for fun. I don't hold anything against these characters. Now, one detail I did was that I tried to emulate the movie's casting sequence where actor names are shown with little drawings that represent an aspect of their characters. If you look, you can probably figure out who's who by counting the asterisks. Anyway, I'll describe the casting reasons:
> 
> Leo and Sakura as Scott and Ramona are obvious. It's the whole point. But they do sort of resemble their characters in the right light... Niles as Wallace was too perfect to pass up. It is a cliche in Modern!Leo fics to have him hanging out with Niles, but it was too perfect. Elise is Leo's sister, but Kim is not Scott's sister, so that changes their dynamic. I did that because it gave me a few ideas. Corrin is both Stacey and Comeau, because I wanted more of Corrin being a sister to Leo (not a lover) and she knows everyone. Selkie is Knives because she's young, a little hyper, and has highlights in her hair. Dwyer is young and kinda quiet, so he's Young Neil. While Julie is a meaner character than Oboro, I just wanted to write cranky Oboro. And Odin was showy enough that he suited Patel's role. ...There's no special reason for Hinata being Stephen Stills.
> 
> The band name, "Rockin' Troopas" was improvised. I wanted (something) Troopas, but I had trouble finding another word. So I just went with Rockin'. It's apt. Also, the songs are a little different. The Battle of the Bands songs are both different songs. Double Dragon sings Own Little World by Celldweller. I know it from Dead Rising 2. The Troopas sing Crazy Train, by Ozzy. In a way, they kind of fit. Odin's song is the same as Patel's song, but with new words. Last note, the name of the shoe store is a reference to the Discord server a lot of us Leo/Sakura folk are part of. "Heals on Wheels".
> 
> Guys. I've never written a long-going romantic thing before, so working the Scott Pilgrim angle is how I bring my own spin to the table. All the same, I put a lot of time and effort into this fic and I hope that you enjoy it.
> 
> (Oh yeah, I'm going to update this every day until it's finished. All 6 chapters. Because I've already written them all. This is the dedicated week, you know.)
> 
> (And if you're following Gray Whirlpool, don't worry. That won't be affected.)


	2. Leo vs. The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Sakura are officially a couple now. But while they seem to enjoy their new relationship, they must both deal with each other's evil exes. Except neither of the two are all that evil.

**Update:  
** **Leo – Status: Now a thing with Sakura  
** **Sakura – Status: Dimension-Hopping Shoe Saleswoman**

 **Niles – Status: Schadenfreude Gold Medal  
** **Elise – Status: Gotta drum fast  
** **Hinata – Status: Musically insecure  
** **Young Dwyer – Status: Future Pokemon Master  
** **Selkie – Status: Technically an adult  
** **Corrin – Status: Single, ready to mingle  
** **Oboro – Status: Annoyed**

 **Odin Dark – Status: Pocket change  
** **Evil Exes #2-7 – Status: Unknown**

**Month: April**

_Leo sat in a chair outside the principal's office. He wore a nice sweater over his usual polo shirt. Next to him sat a girl from the upper class, wearing the female version of the uniform. The girl looked at him. "You're actually pretty cool, Leo."_

_To that, Leo smiled. "Thanks. That jerk will think twice before saying things like that."_

_"You don't look my age," the older student said. "What year are you?"_

_"Uh… Eleven. I'm only sixteen."_

_"Ah I see. I'm in Year Thirteen, but I just moved here. The name's Scarlet."_

**_Name: Scarlet  
_ ** **_Status: Yet to be suspended_ **

_"We should be friends, Leo. I have a good feeling about you."_

_…_

_Leo rested on his bed, reading a book, but a girl's voice snapped him out of it. "Hey Leo."_

_"Scarlet? What are you doing here?"_

_"Well I was talking to your sister, and she's a genius! Violin_ and _drums?! Whoa!"_

_Leo shrugged. "Okay?"_

_…_

_Leo stared down at the food on his plate. He sat at the table with Elise and Corrin both across him. Another sister served everybody, and Corrin looked over to her. "Where are Dad and Xander?"_

_"Oh you know how excited Dad is to show Xander around his work." The other sister smiled. "Leo, Corrin tells me you've made a new friend!"_

_Leo glared at Corrin across the table. "Why do you know that?!"_

_"I can't help it, people like to tell me things!"_

_"Is she your giiiirlfriend?" Elise teased. Leo rolled his eyes._

_"No, we just hang out sometimes. Her name's Scarlet."_

_"Oh yeah! I know her too!" Elise realized._

_…_

_The bully crawled away from Leo, nose bleeding. Leo glared at him. "Next time you won't be so lucky!"_

_Elise ran up to Leo and hugged him. "Oh thank you, Leo! You saved me from that bully!"_

_"No problem, Elise."_

_…_

_"What?"_

_Scarlet nodded, once again standing in Leo's room. "You heard me. We should start a band! Elise told me you have a guitar, and I have one too! C'mon!"_

_Leo's eyes squirmed. "It's just my brother's acoustic guitar… But I guess I can see where we go from there."_

_…_

_"And that's about it," Leo summarized. He was at his current age, reading a book on the bed he had in high school. Sakura sat in a chair by his desk. "That's the story of how we started a band."_

_"Huh… Okay." Sakura nodded. "Wait, what about your sister and her violin?"_

_Leo shrugged. "I don't remember."_

_Sakura giggled. "I still can't believe you're dreaming about reading a book." She stood up and walked out the door. "I should be going, anyway. Almost time for work. You should probably wake up."_

And he did.

"Darn it."

Immediately, the scent of bacon wafted into his nose. Niles' voice was audible. "Hey, guy! Makin' bacon!"

Leo sat up on the mattress, hand on his forehead. "Dream dating… Exciting, but a little taxing on your consciousness. It takes away from the rest you get." Niles walked over to Leo and set a plate of bacon down on his lap. "So you've met Sakura, right?"

"Yeah, Corrin introduced us while you were doing that show a few weeks ago."

"How does Corrin know her anyw-" He sighed. "I need to stop asking that. She just knows everybody."

**Even you. That's right. _You._**

"I'm gonna issue an ultimatum, Leo," Niles warned. Leo raised his eyebrow.

"One of your famous ultimatums? This must be serious."

The man with sunglasses nodded. "Yeah. You have to break up with Selkie. Today. That, or I'll tell Sakura about her. Like, next time I see her. Just, out of the blue, first thing from my mouth. Maybe I'll add a few spicy details too. Maybe I'll tell her you're into-"

"All right, I get it!"

Niles nodded. "Finish your bacon and get to it, yeah? Other Leo and I are showing Silas the Benny Lee marathon today, and we don't need you ruining the mood."

Leo blinked. "Silas? Oh yeah… Wait, Other Leo _and_ Silas? How are you different from me?"

"Because we're open. You're not. Break up with Selkie. And go crash at Corrin's house or something tonight."

"Ugh. You're despicable. Surprising no one."

* * *

Leo stood outside a smallish, roadside ice cream shop, talking on his phone. "Selkie? Is that you? Listen, we need to ta-"

"Hi Leo!" Leo could hear Selkie's voice both on the phone and in person. He turned around and saw Selkie standing beside another girl, a Wolfskin wearing a red Hoodie (hood up). "What's up?"

"Uh… Well… I-"

"Oh!" She gestured to the girl standing beside her. "This is my friend, Velouria!"

 **Name: Velouria  
** **Status: Selkie's friend**

"Hi."

"Uh, hi." Leo sighed. "Selkie, it's convenient that you're already here."

"Yeah! You come here every Saturday, right?"

Leo paused. "…How'd you know that? Uh, anyway, can… I speak to you alone?"

Velouria rolled her eyes and walked off. "Whatever. I'm going to the city dump…"

"Okay I'll call you later!" Selkie turned around and took Leo's hands in her own. "Leo! Remember how we were gonna meet my parents for dinner?"

"Um… yeah…"

"How about tonight?! You can meet my dad, he's a Kitsune too! Oh! And get this, he listens to River City Ransom after he caught me playing it! Hahaha!" Selkie laughed, holding onto Leo. "Oh man! How pathetic! Must be his midlife crisis…"

Leo cleared his throat. "Selkie… I think I should just be forward about this…"

"Yeah?"

"Ahem…" Leo took a good look at Selkie.

She was waiting for him with bated breath.

Leo shut his eyes.

"We shouldn't see each other anymore… So… yeah."

Selkie merely stood there. Her ears expressively drooped and she slowly let go of Leo. "O-oh… I see…"

"Uh… Okay. Good talk," Leo awkwardly backed away. "And, uh… good luck I guess, with… life."

He bolted.

* * *

That night, Leo sat on Hinata's couch, holding his guitar. "Elise, do you have anything going on later?"

She sat behind her drums. "Yeah, why?"

"Never mind…"

Young Dwyer sat next to Leo on the couch, staring at his 3DS. "Where's Selkie?"

"Uh, we broke up. Say, I think I learned the riff from Contest of Pride. Want to test me?" Leo proceeded to play before anyone could answer. Elise just shook her head.

"Leo…"

"Look, it's fine! Besides, I have a new girlfriend."

Hinata walked in. "Wait, what? I thought Selkie was your new girlfriend."

"He has a new, new girlfriend," Young Dwyer explained, playing his game. "…New-new…"

"Ugh… Whatever, Leo. But man, we barely scraped by that Battle of the Bands!" Hinata began to pace. "We only won because that Owen guy hit them with a fireball. I've had cheaper wins, but still! We gotta step it up if we want to get known!"

**_Ding-dong!_ **

Leo stood up. "Oh, she must be here now."

"What?" Hinata stopped pacing. "Leo, we were gonna practice!"

"You'll be fine without me, Young Dwyer knows my parts. I'm meeting Sakura for coffee, then I gotta see if Corrin can let me crash on the couch." Leo opened the door. Sakura stood there, smiling.

"Hi… Leo."

"Hi. Oh." Leo opened the door further and stood back. He pointed at everyone in the house. "Sakura, these are the Rockin' Troopas. Troopas, this is Sakura."

Hinata groaned. "Stop taking Leo away from us!"

"Hi Sakura! I'm Elise!" She winked. "Let me know if you want any embarrassing stories about Leo!"

"Hmhmhm. I'll… I'll consider it."

Young Dwyer only focused on his video game.

Leo shook his head and put on his coat. "Okay, we're leaving now."

As Leo and Sakura left, they missed the big fox hiding in the bushes. It narrowed its eyes and slunk away.

* * *

" _You forgot something, punk,_ " a tough-looking man on TV said. " _You can't catch that flight if you're dead._ "

Niles sat in the armchair, all alone. "Pffft. Still can't believe Leo thinks I'm actually watching this with Other Leo and Silas." But then his smile faded. "Wait… Why do I feel like there's something I should know? Something about… dating." He hung his head back. "Huh… Leo and Sakura… She has evil ex-boyfriends…"

He gasped and pulled out Leo's laptop. Niles went to the bookmark folder labeled 'Sites About Benny Lee – DO NOT ERASE THESE, LEO'. He then pulled up a fansite where people blog about details and rumors of Benny Lee's personal life. And there it was- right there in the section for weekly fact and rumor updates, a few months back, there was something about Benny joining some form of group based on dating a Hoshidan woman. Nothing concrete, but all Niles needed to know.

"Well… How 'bout that?" **_Riiiing! Riiing!_** "What the-" Niles pulled out his phone. "Uh, yeah?"

" _Um… hi… Is this Leo's apartment?"_

Niles glanced around. "…Technically."

_"Can… I come over?"_

Niles narrowed his eye and put on his shades. "Selkie, right? Where are you right now?"

" _Oh… I'm… uh…_ " As she stuttered on the phone, Niles got up and went to the door. He opened it. There was indeed a Kitsune girl talking into her phone outside. "Aaah! …Is Leo there?"

"…You should go."

* * *

"THAT'S RIGHT, FEEL THE BURN!"

That deep voice roused Elise from her sleep. The young woman looked over at her clock and glared. "Aw man… Two minutes before my alarm…"

With no fanfare, Elise got out of bed and changed into her work uniform. Essentially it was her normal black jacket and skirt, but today her jacket was open, revealing the customary t-shirt of Greg's Videos employees. Elise walked out into her apartment's main room and caught her roommate lifting a dumbbell. Elise scrunched her eyes shut, still mourning the loss of her two minutes of sleep. Reluctantly, she went to grab a small breakfast from the refrigerator.

"I don't know how Effie likes mornings…"

…

Elise trudged her way down a few blocks and made it into the video store. It was a boring place inside. Quiet, gray carpets, all the movies were rather old, except for ones that did rather poorly in the box office a mere few months ago. There was an inexplicable stain on one of the wall-ceiling corners.

A grown woman with lilac hair greeted the young woman. "Good morning, Elise! And how are you today?"

 **Name: Camilla  
** **Status: A morning person**

"Hi Camilla. I'm," she yawned, "good."

"Elise, were you staying up late last night?"

Elise moaned. "Camillaaa! I'm not a child!"

"I know, I know," Camilla rested her elbows on the counter. "By the way, I brought a lunch for you, it's in the lounge fridge."

"Thanks!"

Thus Elise's day at work began. Before very long, Elise was left alone and Leo walked in. "Elise."

"Oh. Hey Leo! What's up?"

Leo nodded as he approached. "I'm going to need to rent some Benny Lee movies. Apparently Niles found out he's one of Sakura's evil ex-boyfriends, so we thought I should get familiar with his work. Maybe see if he has any weaknesses."

Elise laughed. "Oh, Leo! You're not allowed to rent movies anymore, remember?"

"…What?"

"You didn't know? Uh, well anyway, I've been wondering," Elise changed the subject, "how are Sakura's ex-boyfriends all evil?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. But come on, have you _seen_ the guy? He looks totally evil." He narrowed his eyes. "And seriously, how did my account get banned?"

"I… might've… rented a few things. In your name. And forgot…"

Leo rested one hand on his hip, and the other on his forehead. "You realize that the only reason you have this job is because our sister is the assistant manager, right?" He looked over to the back room. "CAMILLA! ARE YOU THERE? ELISE MADE A MISTAKE!"

"Leo, don't!"

"I need those movies, Elise!"

"Can't you just… watch them online or something?"

Leo smirked. "What's this, you're driving away one of your customers in favor of an online service?"

"Leo stop!"

* * *

**Krakenburg Library – Where guests learn worldbuilding lore or gameplay tips from merely one page of one book**

"Thanks for showing me the library again, Corrin."

Sakura and Corrin walked through the large library together. There was nothing new about either of them, apart from the round purse strapped around Sakura. It was white and had the pink image of a blossom. Corrin nodded. "Anything for my pen pal. Besides, Leo's probably too wrapped up in his own head to help."

"He was going to show me. We talked about it… last night. But then his roommate had something to tell him."

Corrin privately glared at the mention of Leo's roommate. "Yeah, well… Whatever. So, this castle used to belong to the ancient kings of Nohr. Now it's mostly a landmark. The King lives in Macarath Palace. But the library here is still available. It's sort of like a public library now."

Sakura nodded, taking in the sights. The bookshelves practically went up to the ceiling, and several people walked about, reading various books, napping, or even messing around on the public computers.

"Back in Hoshido, the royal family hadn't changed homes. A-at least not to my knowledge." As Sakura and Corrin walked together, the shoe clerk paused. "Um… hold on." Corrin stopped and watched as Sakura managed to retrieve a bow from her small purse.

A large fox with multiple tails descended from a balcony, and Sakura aimed the bow. Magical string appeared, as did an arrow. Sakura said nothing as she fired, taking out the Kitsune before it could pounce her. She bowed deeply. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you but I knew you were coming and you kind of freak me out because you're ambushing me!"

Corrin merely blinked. "Uh… okay."

" _Owww…_ " the fox moaned, her voice familiar to Corrin's ears. " _I'll get you for this, shoe lady! When I play, I play rough!_ "

With that, the fox trotted away. Sakura cleared her throat and held the bow behind her back. "Sh-shall we continue?"

Corrin tilted her head. "Uh, how'd you fit that in your bag?"

Sakura looked down at her feet. "I… don't want to talk about it. If that's okay."

Corrin had no response.

* * *

Leo threatened to die of boredom as he watched one of Benny Lee's movies with Niles. This particular love story was too nonsensical for his tastes. "This is asinine. I can buy the princess's performance and the farm girl's performance. I can even buy the younger prince's performance. But they expect me to believe that the high prince looks like Benny Lee? This role clearly wasn't written for him!"

Niles shrugged, looking over some papers. "Gotta cash in on that recognition somehow. Anyway, I think I have what you need to know." He flipped to the next page. "Former wrestler, became known for appearing on the news for some reason I couldn't find, career took off, then he made the transition to movies." The man nodded. "Frequently typecast as action heroes or villains in straight action films, as well as over-the-top villains in children's films. Something of a loner. And he spent a few of his summers in Hoshido during youth. What a guy."

With a roll of the eyes, Leo said, "How is he popular, though? He just gives the same performance over and over."

"Well if that's your attitude, I guess break time is over." Niles set down the sheets and grabbed the remote, turning the movie's volume up. "Give me a thousand more push-ups before the movie ends."

"Ugh…"

* * *

Later that night, Leo allowed Sakura into the apartment. She winced as it became apparent to her that this was a very small domicile. "This place is small… Uh, not that that's bad! It's… cozy!" The second thing she noticed was that Leo had donned an apron over his usual clothes. "O-oh, you're cooking? You have a kitchen? Uh, I mean-"

Leaning on the counter, Niles grinned. "Wow. She makes as good a first impression as you do."

This incited a sigh from Leo, though Sakura took the bait. "Oh, hi. Um, Niles, isn't it?"

"That's me."

Leo put his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Coat?" She nodded, taking her coat off and handing it to Leo. As he put it on the hanger, he spoke to Niles. "Weren't you going on some errands?"

Niles rolled his eye and put on his sunglasses. "Oh fine, I'll leave you kids alone. Heheh… Though we'll see what I walk in on when I come back…"

"Niles!"

The man left the two lovebirds alone, and Leo cleared his throat. "Well, then… Welcome. While this place may be small, it's… small."

She smiled at the honesty. "You could say it's as big as it needs to be."

Leo merely shook his head. "No, no I couldn't. But thank you for trying." He walked over to the kitchen. "To answer your question from earlier, yes I do cook. Normally I'd ask if you have any preference, but… we don't have a lot." The man winced as he looked through the cabinets. "…How does garlic bread sound?"

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Oh! Are we having pasta?"

"Uh…" Leo blinked. "No, I… I just meant the garlic bread by itself."

"O-oh…"

…

Half an hour later, Leo and Sakura sat together on the floor, with three plates. One for each of them, and one for the greater loaf of garlic bread. Sakura nodded. "Mmm, thish 'sh good," she said with her mouth full. "Th'nk yoo."

Leo observed how her reservations disappeared whenever food was involved. He swallowed his bite. "Yeah. I don't have a lot of ingredients, but I make them count. Heh…"

Then Sakura swallowed her piece of bread. "I've actually had this before!" She took another bite of her bread. "I l'v'd it." Swallow. "My family and I tried some garlic bread at a Nestran-styled restaurant." She giggled, and her cheeks turned pink. "I loved it so much. Haha, I'd actually eat so much of it that I couldn't save room for dinner!"

From the moment she actually laughed, Leo fell into a trance. He had to shake his head to snap out of it. "Oh… Well… glad you like it."

"I really do," Sakura nodded, smiling. "I always wanted to have nothing but garlic bread for dinner. Now I can!" She smiled. "Maybe I'll just get the recipe and do this every night."

Leo frowned. "Every night? That wouldn't be a good idea. You'd get tired of it. Not to mention, bread can make you fat."

"Bread makes you fat?!" Sakura repeated, spitting out some crumbs from her next bite.

…

The two sat close together as they watched a movie. They were huddling close, with Sakura leaning against Leo's shoulder, and his arm around hers. Despite this, she frowned. "Wait, what are they saying?"

"Yeah the scene's a bit quiet." Sakura sat upright to let Leo reach for the remote. It rested on the floor, some distance in front of them, and Sakura noticed something on the back of Leo's neck.

"Um, Leo?"

"Yeah?" He grabbed the remote and returned to his original position. Sakura seemed flustered, to Leo's bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

"The tag on your shirt… It's sticking out…" She shut her eyes. "Are you wearing your shirt wrong again?"

Leo blinked. He set the remote down, stood up, walked over to the bathroom, and shut the door. Sakura followed with her eyes. "Leo?"

**Thump, thump**

" _I SCREWED UUUUUUUUUP!_ "

"L-Leo?" Sakura winced. "Are… are you okay?"

After a few seconds, Leo exited the bathroom, shirt on correctly, and sat down on the mattress, elbows resting on his knees. "…I'm sorry, did you want to talk about something?"

"Uh… I… I'm sorry I upset you…? I think?"

Leo sighed. "It's not you. It's… This isn't the first time that's happened." He looked up. "And I'm not talking about the party either."

"What happened?"

"I… One time I had another girlfriend. I don't really know how long it's been." **(Leo knows it was around 430 days, give or take.)** "We had a disagreement." **(She brutally dumped him.)** "Also I wore my shirt wrong, so now whenever it keeps happening, it reminds me of that." **(Leo's inside-out shirt was the inciting incident to the final argument with his big ex.)**

"Well… Why does it keep happening?" Sakura asked.

"I… I just like to get dressed quickly."

* * *

Velouria sat on Selkie's bed, in her messy bedroom with wall-to-wall River City Ransom merchandise. The Wolfskin watched as her friend dug through a bag of hair products. "I can't believe it! She got me right in the face with some kind of weird arrow thingy!"

"You look fine to me."

Selkie looked up from her task. "That's not the point! She's violent! She's gonna hurt Leo!" Back to digging. As she worked, she threw things out behind her. "She lured him in with her Hoshidan wiles, and now whenever he steps out of line, she'll probably shoot him! Or someone he loves! He's been tricked!"

"I… I don't think… Wait, didn't you attack her first?"

"Whose side are you on?!"

"…Hey, can I have the tube of dye when you're done?" Inquisitively, she narrowed her gaze. "How many did you _get_ , anyway?"

…

Selkie rambled to herself, sticking her head under the bathtub faucet. "Was it my fault?! Am I too young?! Leo always did like sitting in place, maybe I should've tried that! That Sakura girl likes to sit in place too! Why are the gods punishing me for an active lifestyle?!"

As this happened, Velouria merely stood in the doorway, arms folded under her chest. "Hey… you know, I can't really hear you."

…

Finally, Selkie got a look at herself in the mirror. Her hair remained the same, but with a new pink streak in the middle, as pink as the hairs on Sakura's head. "Muahahaha! Now I can stand a chance at helping Leo escape that crazy lady!"

Velouria's eyes moved between her friend, and the used dye tube on the floor. "I can have that tube, right?"

…

The girls sat on Selkie's bed as Selkie texted a certain someone. Velouria winced. "How did you get that number?"

"I… uh…" Selkie opted to orphan her explanation in favor of continuing the message.

 **Selkie: OMG yung dryer you r cute we should b dating  
** **Young Dwyer: …**

"Your spelling is horrible."

"Shh, he's responding!"

 **Selkie: OMG yung dryer you r cute we should b dating  
** **Young Dwyer: sure why not**

* * *

Dressed for the cold weather, Leo and Sakura arrived near historic Fort Dragonfall. In the olden days, it was a fortress crafted from the remains of an ancient dragon. It was abandoned after a while, and now serves as a landmark for tourists to come and see. Tourists are allowed to visit from May through October, with special permission granted to the film crew currently present to shoot during April.

"We could've jumped through the Astral Plane… I wouldn't mind!" Sakura told Leo.

"Eh…" Leo was crabby. "Stupid Niles. Stupid Benny Lee... interrupting our date…"

"B-Benny Lee?" Sakura covered her mouth for a second. She stopped walking. "Leo you d-don't have to do this right now."

He turned back to Sakura, also stopping. "You said it yourself, didn't you? I have to defeat your evil ex-boyfriends?"

"M-my exes. Yes…"

"So he's gonna find me sooner or later." He shrugged. "I might as well. But, ah, what was he like?"

Sakura blushed. "It's… This whole thing is embarrassing. But I guess…" Her eyes turned to the sky, recollecting her time with Benny Lee. "Um… We met at a summer camp o-one time… He was nice. B-but then summer ended, so I-I realized it wouldn't work. And we broke up."

Leo put a finger to his chin. "Hmm. Niles was telling me that he spent a few summers in Hoshido."

"I only went to camp that one year…"

"Well, he's a movie star, now. I'm sure he's not that torn up about it. Gods forbid he ends up like that first guy…"

…

Niles held a coffee cup as Leo and Sakura joined him on the set. "All right, where is he?" Leo asked.

"Give him a second," said Niles.

The Universal Studios theme was audible as a large, intimidating man in a leather coat emerged from his trailer and went over to begin shooting.

 **Name: Benny Lee**  
**Status: Famous**

The director nodded. "Okay, 3, 2, 1, action!"

**_BOSS: BENNY LEE_ **

Benny slammed his fist into his palm and glared ahead of him. A shady actor sitting atop a trained wyvern glared at him. "Let me tell you something. Your first mistake was getting on my bad side. Your last mistake… was not getting out of town."

Niles shook his head, grinning. "His one-liners are so cheesy. I love it."

Leo raised his eyebrow. "Hm. It just now occurs to me that you dated a movie star."

"W-well he wasn't a star back then…"

Benny glared and turned his gaze to Leo. "HEY! I'm talking to _you_ , Mr. Leo!"

This caught Leo off-guard. "Wait what?"

"Man, why can't he talk to _me?_ " Niles complained.

Benny promptly abandoned his scene and marched over to Leo. "I said your first mistake was to get on my bad side. And your last mistake was not getting out of town!" He grabbed Leo by the coat collar.

"Whoa there!"

"HYYYYA!" Benny spun Leo around and threw him into the distance. Niles sighed.

"It's like he didn't even see the boss title a minute ago. C'mon, Leo."

Leo tore through a cloth with a fake Nestran skyline, and slammed right into the 'nose' of the ancient dragon before tumbling to the ground. Benny looked over at Sakura. "Um… so how's it going?"

Sakura shied away from his glance. "I… I'm fine."

Benny shrugged. The director cut the scene short, allowing his star to make his way over to Leo's position. "Are you all right?"

Leo slowly got back to his feet. "Ugh… Good thing I did those extra push-ups…"

"Listen. I really don't want to fight," Benny said. "You seem like an all right guy, and I have better things to do than all that stuff with Tochika's league."

This caught Leo's interest. "League?"

Benny sighed and extended a hand, helping Leo stand up. "The League of Evil Exes. Sakura's last boyfriend gathered us all together and told us we had to avenge ourselves by destroying you."

"Ugh… So that's probably what that last guy's email was talking about."

"Odin?" Benny shook his head. "That guy scares me."

"Wait, I don't get it." Leo dusted off his clothes. "If you're such a nice guy, why are you doing this?"

"Well… I noticed a lot of the others were really hurt whenever Sakura came up. And I remember she hurt me. So I thought maybe I could talk you out of seeing her once I spare you."

"Uh-huh…" Leo massaged one of his temples. "Come on, it was summer camp, right? You weren't going to stay in Hoshido, it wasn't going to work out."

"Is that what she told you?"

Leo's eyebrow arched. "Uh, yes?"

"Well that's half true, at least." Benny cringed. "Want to know the real reason we broke up? Sakura already found someone else." Leo kept silent. "Yeah. My family was actually staying in Hoshido for a little longer, and she knew it. I tried to find Sakura again. But you know what I saw when I did?" He did not wait for Leo's response. "I saw her, cuddling up to that 'perfect' jerk!"

The movie star shrugged.

"He's in the league too, and she's dating you now. So I guess it didn't work out. But yeah."

"I…" A sigh. "Look, I'm sure she feels bad about it now. You were kids!"

"It's not important now. Look, if you really want to date Sakura, fine. But Tochika's gonna want something…" Benny scratched the back of his neck. "You have any gold coins? Give me all your gold coins, and I'll tell him you beat me. I'm a pretty good actor, as you know."

Leo waffled his hand. "Eh, so-so."

"…What?"

"I mean, you're _all right_ , but I've seen your movies. You're usually one of the weaker actors."

The star said nothing at first. He cracked his knuckles and punched Leo again. Benny then stormed off. When Leo regained his energy, he caught sight of Benny's large figure and leather jacket and followed after him. "Hey! Don't just walk off like that!"

But when the man turned around, it was not Benny. Rather, it was a man who mostly resembled Benny Lee. Suddenly, Leo found himself surrounded by a trio of Benny Lee lookalikes. "Leo, meet my stunt doubles." The bassist looked up to find the real Benny standing atop Fort Dragonfall's 'nose'. "These guys help out when I can't do the job on my own. And that's the same here." He glared. "Get him, boys."

"Uh-oh."

"Hey Leo!" Leo and all the stunt doubles looked over to see Niles, a few meters away, still with his coffee. "Ask them if they like getting Benny's sloppy seconds."

"I'm a bit busy, Niles."

"Whatever," Niles waved his hand and walked off, and the stunt doubles all began attacking.

The nearest double threw a punch, but Leo knocked the fist away and kicked the double in the gut, flooring him. Another went at Leo from the side, but he turned and punched him in the face, then whipped around and hit a third guy in the face. The second double recovered and punched Leo in the back, while the third headbutted him. Leo shoved his elbow into the guy behind him, then punched the guy before him with the same fist. Then he grabbed the guy in front of him and swung him around, knocking over the other double before throwing him aside.

The original double got back up, and wrapped his arms around Leo before throwing him to the floor as Leo did to the three stunt doubles. Then all three began wailing on him.

Benny watched the entire thing unfold and yawned. He jumped down and began walking toward his trailer. "Those stunt doubles. Good people. I should get them coffee or something." As Benny made his escape, the level-up jingle was audible. "Huh?" Then an errant shoe hit the back of his head. "Ow! What the- Ohhh…"

He turned around and saw Leo, coat removed, standing in the center of a triangle of defeated stunt doubles. Leo rolled his shoulder and glared at Benny. "Are you ready for your close-up?"

The Evil Ex sighed and began charging for his opponent. Leo ran to face him head on. He prepared a punch, but Benny proved faster, shoulder-ramming Leo to the ground.

"Aaa….aaah."

"Sorry. Really, I'm sorry. But you know how it is," Benny said. "If you hold still, I'll make this quick."

Leo heard the growls of the nearby trained wyvern. "Uh, so you were a wrestler, right?"

"…Yeah?"

"Could you…" Leo spotted the wyvern at last. "Demonstrate on that wyvern?"

"You think I could bring myself to wrestle with that dragon? And hurt it?!"

"What? You're not gonna hurt it. I mean, that's how it works right? Wrestlers don't really-"

Benny tensed, holding his hands out. "Okay, stop breaking kayfabe! I'll do it! I just need some gloves."

Niles slid up beside Benny, tapping his shoulder. "Got your gloves. Big fan, by the way."

"Thank you." Benny put on the gloves and approached the wyvern. He ran at it, screaming. As Benny grappled with the dragon, it roared and took off to the sky.

"Oh… I thought that dragon was trained," Niles said, helping Leo stand up.

"Yeah, but I saw its trainer walk off during my fight with the stunt guys. Fun fact, wyverns constantly need their trainers present."

"Huh."

Leo and Niles watched Benny and the wyvern go high above the clouds.

**Boom.**

**_KO!_ **

**_+2000 pts!_ **

A decent amount of gold coins rained down on the spot where the wyvern had once rested. Leo snapped his fingers. "Gah! I should've asked him what he knew about the other ex-boyfriends. He might've actually told me."

"Live and learn," Niles summarized. "I'm gonna go brag that Benny Lee's last words were spoken to me."

Leo looked around. "Wait, where's Sakura?"

Niles joined Leo in his eyes-only search. It appeared that Sakura was no longer at the fort.

* * *

The next day at Leo and Niles' place, Leo had planted himself in the armchair, and spent the entire morning staring at his phone. "What is her deal? Where is she?"

Niles sat on the floor, playing the SNES. "Maybe she decided she hates you."

"Thank you, Niles."

**_Didididididing!_ **

Leo perked up. "Aha! Finally!"

"Wait, isn't your ringtone for Sakura more like-"

"Hello?"

" _Hey Leo. It's been a while._ "

Leo's eyes shot wide open. His jaw practically dropped. Niles looked over his shoulder (turning his head further to compensate for the eye) and observed Leo's shocked state. "Oh no… It's _her_ , isn't it?"

The blond gulped, and blankly nodded.

"H-hello again… Luna."

**[CHAPTER 2 CLEAR! WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE?]**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with this second chapter, I start incorporating more elements from the comic. Also I think someone else had the idea of Leo and Sakura dream-dating. But y'know, Scott Pilgrim.
> 
> Scarlet is playing the role of Scott & Kim's high school friend, Lisa. Something about Lisa's presence in the whole story for me is that she just seems... not real. A ghost. I don't know why. Scarlet kind of gives me that vibe too, so I cast her. Velouria as Selkie's friend seemed like a clear transition of Knives having that more sensible friend. In the comic, Kim has a fellow employee and friend named Hollie. Here, that's Camilla's role, mostly to help work in another of Leo's family. Xander and Garon are referenced too. Benny as Lucas Lee is because Benny and Comic!Lucas are both surprisingly nice people. And at long last, Leo's big ex is Luna, better known as Selena, better-yet known as Severa. Mostly because she has Envy's red hair.
> 
> I changed around the order of events, which is going to be a thing, going forward. In the second comic, the Lucas Lee fight was barely an event. Just one scene, and then the last third of the book was Knives ambushing Ramona, and the Demonheads having their performance. Here, I made sure that Benny's fight was still the climax of the chapter. Benny's attitude is like the comic version of Lucas, but events play out more like the movie version.
> 
> Also, Corrin is revealed as the pen pal who told Sakura to come to Nohr. She had no clue any of this would happen. Between unintentionally bringing Sakura and Leo together, and bringing Niles and Silas together, she's an accidental matchmaker. She really is a player insert after all. Also, the movie that Niles and Leo watch is a reference to a Sakura/Leo (and Xander/Mozu) fic called Princess and the Pauper. Go look at it. (It also has some tiny Scott Pilgrim references in spite of its premise.) And Leo screaming "I SCREWED UP" is a One Punch Man joke, because Max Mittelman.
> 
> Also a bit of modern-day Nohr worldbuilding in this chapter, so have fun with that.
> 
> Enjoy.


	3. Leo and the Infinite Sadness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River City Ransom is coming to town. Their singer is Leo's big ex, Luna. But where is the third Evil Ex? And how can Leo defeat him? What is Leo's history with Luna anyway?

**Update:  
** **Leo – Status: (insert 'Sweating Peele' gif)  
** **Sakura – Status: Missing (may be in garlic bread closet)**

**Niles – Status: Can't beat Wild Guns for SNES  
****Elise – Status: Not a morning person  
****Hinata – Status: Wants his burrito, now!  
****Young Dwyer – Status: Substitute Leo (for Hinata and Selkie)  
****Selkie – Status: Technically an adult  
****Corrin – Status: Unwitting matchmaker  
****Oboro – Status: Skipped Chapter 2**  
**Camilla - Status: Assistant manager at Greg's Videos**  
**Velouria - Status: Probably also an adult**  
**Luna - Status: Phoning it in**

**Odin Dark – Status: Pocket change  
Benny Lee - Status: Making it rain (coins)  
** **Evil Exes #3-7 – Status: Unknown**

Leo paced around his apartment. "I don't get it. It's been a week, where is she?" **_Dingdingdingdingdingding!_** "Huh?" Leo pulled out his cell phone. "Hello?"

" _Hi Leo, it's Camilla! How are you?_ "

"Uh, I've been better. Why are you calling?"

" _Because you never tell me anything! Leo, I had no idea you had a new girlfriend!_ "

Leo sighed. "Well… I do." His eyes shifted back and forth. "You wouldn't happen to know where she is right now, would you?"

" _I didn't even know she existed until this morning, Leo_ ," Camilla told him. _"But why not ask Corrin? She seems to know everyone._ "

Leo sighed. "All right… Thanks…"

" _I love you!_ " she said in anticipation. Leo sighed again.

"I love you too…" he mumbled. Leo hung up. Without a moment to lose, he dialed Corrin's number. "Corrin? It's Leo."

A groan was audible. " _What did he do?_ "

"What? No! I mean you're talking to Leo!"

" _Okay. What did_ you _do?_ "

"Oh come on! Look, I have some things I need to tell you, so I'm coming over to Stahlbucks. Okay?" Corrin was about to protest, but Leo gave her no opportunity.

* * *

Leo barged into the coffee shop. "Okay Corrin, I have some questions-"

"Leo?!" Oboro asked behind the counter. The boy gasped.

"Oboro?! What did you do with my sister?!"

**Knock, knock, knock** Leo looked out the window and saw Corrin wearing a jacket over her sweater, mouthing that she needed to go somewhere. Leo sighed and went up to the counter.

"Well, as long as I'm here…"

Oboro rolled her eyes. "Yeah, what the **[BLEEP]** do you want?" Leo stared curiously at the black bar that appeared over Oboro's mouth. "What? What are you **[BLEEP]** looking at?"

"How are you doing that with your mouth?"

"None of your **[BLEEP]** business how I'm doing it! By the way, nice job not listening to my **[BLEEP]** warning not to ask Sakura out!" Oboro scolded. "The **[BLEEP]** is wrong with you?!"

Leo glared. "So can I get a decaf or something?!" He slammed down a sack of gold coins. Oboro sighed and took the money, then went to prepare the drink.

"You know, it's about high **[BLEEP]** time you looked in the mirror, Leo! You keep messing with girls, sooner or later it'll come back and get you." She smirked privately. "By the way, I heard the girl that **[BLEEP]** you up is back in town at the beginning of next month."

"…I heard. I'll just go wait for my drink." Leo stepped aside and bumped into none other than Sakura. "Whoa!"

"Ah! H-hi, Leo…"

"Sakura, uh… Where have you been?" he asked.

Sakura blushed. "I… I didn't want to hang around there. It… The fight with Odin happened so fast, so I couldn't leave, but… I don't like seeing these fights." She gripped her wrist. "It just reminds me of all my mistakes."

To that, Leo shrugged. "Well hey. At least it makes two of us now. _My_ evil ex is coming back to town soon," he told her.

"The big ex?" asked Sakura. "You never… you never told me how that went, you know…"

Leo scratched the back of his neck. "It's kind of personal. I'd rather not talk about it…"

"Um… With all due respect," Sakura started, "I had to watch m-my first boyfriend make a fool of hims-self and me, in front of everyone… at the cupcake place. Why can't you… just tell me about your breakup?"

He sighed. "Fair enough. But honestly? I only remember parts of it." Leo's eyes went from Sakura to the scenery all around the café. "This is going to sound weird, but my memories of high school and university are a little fuzzy."

Sakura did not buy it. "Come on, Leo. You can tell me, can't you?"

"Seriously! I only remember bits of it here and there." Leo went over to the part of the counter where he would receive his drink, and tapped his fingers on it. "I was a commuter student, I met Hinata and Oboro, we met Luna, I dated her, she was cool, then she wasn't, I wore my shirt wrong, and she broke my heart."

"Luna?"

"That's her 'new' name," Leo said with a derisive eye roll. "Back then, she was Selena. I wonder if it's because she changed her hair," he mused. "I never trusted redheads…"

Sakura gasped. "L-Leo!"

"Huh? Oh! Uh, w-well you're more of a pink than red, that… that doesn't count!" He sweat. "Uh, I meant redheaded _Nohrians_ … yeah…" Then he winced. "Wait, Luna isn't even from Nohr… And I just turned this into an ethnic thing. Uhh…" Oboro walked over to the counter and slammed Leo's cup down. "Huh?!"

"There's your **[BLEEP]** coffee."

* * *

_Leo roamed about the dreamscape. This time it was not as snowy, some had melted, and a few flowers were visible. Leo's face had a small smile as he took in the scenery… until a pink and white blur charged for him._

_"Whoa!" Leo jumped over the attacker. As he did, he saw that it was a feminine figure in a white coat, with a Kitsune mask, long brown hair, and a samurai sword. Leo landed back on his feet. "Great, now I'm having dreams about fighting!"_

_The attacker turned around and charged at Leo again. The boy glared. "Okay that's enough!" He crouched down this time, and punched upward. "Get lost!"_

_"Aaah!" The mystery person fell into the slush, and her mask fell off. Leo walked closer as he saw the samurai lying down, clutching her chest. "Ow! You punched me in the boob!"_

_"Aaah!" Leo looked as his hand and shook it. "Well… you attacked me out of nowhere!"_

_The girl stood back up and grabbed her mask. "Prepare to die obviously!"_

_"Wait, as in, the manner of my death will be obvious?" He sighed. "Whatever. Look, you're just a figment of my imagination, I'm not in the mood for this."_

_The samurai narrowed her eyes. "That's what you think this is? Whatever. I'll just let_ him _take care of you. He'll be in for a rude awakening! And then you're mine! And next time, I'll be serious, next time!"_

_"What?"_

_"Shut up!" She put her mask back on and threw down a smoke bomb._

"Aaah!" Leo shot awake.

Niles woke up too, wearing a birthday party hat. "Leo, what's wrong?"

Other Leo woke up beside Niles. "Let me guess: Luna."

"Actually, we don't use that name in this house," Niles told Other Leo.

Silas woke up beside Other Leo. "Hey guys, what're we talking about?"

Leo shook his head and stood up. "Ugh, I had another weird dream. Must be all the stress from my ex coming back. But you know what?" Leo turned to Niles and his bedmates. "I don't need to worry! That was a long time ago! I'm with Sakura now, and she makes me happier than Luna ever did!"

Niles nodded approvingly, thus Leo looked to the ceiling.

"From this moment on, I refuse to let Luna hold me back!"

* * *

"You agreed to have us open for Luna's band?!" Leo asked.

The members of Rockin' Troopas all gathered on Young Dwyer's bed as the roadie himself browsed on the computer. Hinata looked at Leo. "Dude, this is gonna be great for the Rockin' Troopas! River City Ransom is popular! And we know their singer and drummer!"

Leo winced. "Yeah, but…"

"I thought you said you were over it!" Elise reprimanded. "Come on, Leo! It'll be fun!" She turned to the computer. "Isn't that right, Young Dwyer?"

"Meh."

* * *

**Month: May**

**Location: A club (Leo's Note: Get club's name from Hinata later)**

The Troopas finished performing at the club, and Hinata took the mic. "Yeah… Uh, we're the Rockin' Troopas." In the back, Niles and Other Leo gave token whoops. Hinata nodded. "Yeah, so… We don't have any merch or anything, but-"

"GET OFF THE STAGE!"

"Okay."

The Troopas got off stage and made their way to the bar area. Hinata looked over at Elise. "You know you're not old enough for any of this, right?"

"I turned 20 in March, Hinata!"

"Oh yeah." Hinata rested his elbows on the counter, cradling his head. "Man… Did we suck?"

Sakura sat on a stool beside Leo. "I… I think you could've been worse…"

Hinata gulped. "I need a drink!"

Elise squinted. "Hey is that Young Dwyer over there? Who's he with?" Leo and Sakura turned their heads. "On that couch over there." To Leo's surprise, Young Dwyer was with Selkie. She looked to be having the time of her life talking to Young Dwyer, though he dully stared forward. She looked over at Leo and gasped. Quickly, she tried to kiss Young Dwyer, but he absently inched his head further away from her. "Is he dating Selkie now?" Elise asked. "Y'know, I thought I saw a spark between them!"

" _Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare for… River City Ransom!_ "

Leo, Sakura and Elise turned around. Onstage were the famous band. The guitarist was a pretty man wearing a white and cyan long jacket and pants, but no shirt. He had mahogany hair in the style of a ponytail. The drummer wore a leather jacket and headband under her powdery blue hair. Then the singer strutted out in tight leather, with her red twintails trailing behind her.

**Name: River City Ransom**

**Luna (Selena) (The Singer)  
** **Status: Wants to make Leo feel awkward  
** ***  
Beruka (The Drummer)  
** **Status: Wants to blend in behind her drums  
** ***  
Subaki (The Guitarist)  
** **Status: Wants to avoid any wrong notes**

" _Oh no_ ," Sakura whispered.

Elise looked over. "What?"

"I… I used to date that guy…"

Leo sighed, while Elise smiled. "What a coincidence! Leo used to date the singer!"

Leo moaned, as the band started playing. Luna held the mic close to her mouth and stalked around the stage.

**_"You cornered me to say, 'Oh how can you live that way?'"  
_ ** **_"You think I'm wrong with my pride. But let me tell you, I am justified…."  
_ ** **_"Look to my left and you'll see where I tried! Look to my right to see the crimes!"  
_ ** **_"Look through my past and you'll see all the lies I've lied, and why I'm justified!"  
_ ** **_"Justified!"  
_ ** **_"Justified!"  
_ ** _**"And why I'm justified!** "_

* * *

Long after the crowds had dispersed, the Troopas, Sakura, Young Dwyer and Selkie were the only ones left.

"That was soooo good!" Selkie praised. Young Dwyer shrugged.

"Eh. They're better live."

"That _was_ live!"

"Was it? Oh."

Oboro walked out onto the empty stage. "Hey. I don't know why, but Luna invited you all into the greenroom."

Leo winced, and Elise punched his shoulder. Everyone else went backstage, with Selkie and Young Dwyer bringing up the rear.

"How do these guys know Luna?!" Selkie asked.

Young Dwyer shrugged. "Eh. We all knew each other in college. Oh, and Leo dated her before."

" **:O** "

* * *

**THE GREENROOM**

From nearest to farthest on the left side, Leo, Sakura, Elise, and Selkie sat on one couch, with Young Dwyer hunched and standing beside it. On the opposite couch, from nearest to farthest, sat Luna, Subaki, Oboro and Hinata. Beruka reclined against the wall.

"It's been a while, Leo," Luna greeted. "How've you been?"

"Um… F-fine."

Subaki looked upon Sakura. "And you seem well, Sakura."

Her face turned pink. "W-well… you know…"

"Hey, is there an ulterior motive for all this?" Hinata asked Luna. "I mean… we kinda left on bad terms…"

"Um," Selkie's interruption caused Luna, Subaki and Oboro to all glare at her. Hinata merely stared. "I… I read your blog, Luna! It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun touring!"

Oboro changed the subject. "So Luna, Beruka told me you guys played with Wild Guns back in Cheve. That's pretty big!"

"They played Wild Guns together?" Young Dwyer asked. Elise shook her head.

"No, she's talking about the _band_ , Wild Guns."

"Yeah, it was okay," Luna told Oboro. "They're so behind us, though. A lead guitarist _and_ a bassist? Subaki can do both at once!"

"That's true," Subaki said with a nod. He smugly grinned at Leo, while Hinata laughed awkwardly.

"Well… y'know… it's all about the music in the end, right?"

Oboro elbowed him. "Shut up, you're gonna embarrass me in front of Luna!"

Selkie gasped. "Wait! Luna! I kissed the lips that kissed your lips! We're Lip Sisters!"

**Achievement Unlocked: Sisterhood of the Mouth**

"Enough." Beruka got off the wall and approached Selkie. "Shoryuken." With a spinning uppercut, the drummer punched Selkie in the face, knocking the pink streak out of her hair, and sending her to the floor. Young Dwyer gasped and got onto his knees.

"Ow…"

"She punched the highlights out of her hair…" He turned up to Leo, Sakura and Elise in horror. "She punched the highlights, out of her haaaaair!"

"Do you surrender now?" Beruka asked. Luna waved her hand.

"Okay, now you're just showing off. Both of you leave!"

"Wait, _me?_ " Young Dwyer asked. "Why?"

"Just go!"

Subaki opened his eyes wide and the door to the greenroom opened. Beruka picked both Selkie and Young Dwyer up by the collars, and threw them out before closing the door again. "Problem solved."

"Who even were those guys?" Luna asked. "They're not in your band."

"Uh, he was Jake's kid," Oboro told him. "Remember? The janitor who made us hang out with his son?"

Luna snorted. "You guys _still_ hang out with Young Dwyer?!"

Leo narrowed his eyes and stood up. "That's it! You and me, guitar guy! We both know where this is headed!"

Subaki turned to Leo. "Pardon?"

"YAAAAAAH!" Leo prepared to punch Subaki, but then the man's eyes glowed. Leo found his body freezing in place, and his throat running out of air. "What… is this…?!"

Subaki stood up. "Don't you know? I'm perfect." He held out his arm, then swung it, throwing Leo through the wall behind Subaki himself.

"Leo!" Sakura and Elise both got up and went over to check on him.

"Owww…" Leo's journey landed him in a garbage bag pile in the alleyway. Luna stood up and laughed. "What's so funny?!"

"Subaki trained for this! He's psychic through hard work and willpower alone!" Luna bragged.

Hinata looked over. "Wait, so if I worked at it, I could get psychic powers too?!"

"Pffft! Maybe you could learn to read minds if you had impeccably clean hands like me. But that's as far as you'd probably go," Subaki told him. "The main point is that I'm better than everyone."

"How does that work, anyway?" Oboro asked him.

Subaki sighed. "Look. It was a long and arduous process. But the short version is that I've surpassed the rest of humanity."

"Leo, are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"Ow… Is my head bleeding?"

"It doesn't look like it…"

"Then I'm fine."

Elise puffed her cheeks. "Leo you took that hit like a chump!"

He glared at her. "Well excuse me for not expecting him to have mind powers!"

Luna stepped through the hole in the wall, leading Hinata, Oboro and Subaki. Beruka stayed behind. "So Leo, Subaki's way out of your league, so you have to give up on dating Sakura here!"

"Wait, you know about all this?" Leo asked her.

"Duh! Subaki told me everything! We've been steady since childhood!"

Leo tilted his head. "Wait what?! So you cheated on Subaki with me?!"

"A-and Subaki cheated on you with me?!" Sakura gasped.

"That was before!" the guitarist defended. "I wasn't perfect then. But now I am, and it's behind us."

"Wait, no you-"

"Why don't we postpone this fight? We have another show next week, and it's important that I don't have any imperfections from a scuffle with you."

"Scuffle?" Hinata balked at Subaki's word choice.

He went ignored. "What do you say, Leo? One last week before I end you?"

"I can still fight!" Leo contested, but he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he stood up. "Or not… Yeah, a week sounds good… maybe week and a half…"

"Hmph. See you then," Selena said. She and Subaki walked away, with Beruka exiting the hole in the wall to follow them. Leo sighed.

"What happened to her?"

* * *

**_Dusk Central State University – Leo's Freshman Year_ **

_Leo and Hinata sat on a couch in Oboro's dorm's main room. Leo and Hinata did not look much younger, but Hinata wore his hair down. A shrill voice was audible. "What do you mean you're not coming with us?! Aren't you friends with my roommate?! She's going!"_

_"I guess I'm going," Beruka's voice droned._

_On the couch, Leo winced. "Why is your girlfriend so obsessed with Selena?"_

_Hinata shrugged. "Hey man, I don't know what to tell ya."_

_Oboro stomped out of Selena's bedroom. "Looks like it's just the four of us. Lazy **[BLEEP]**."_

_…_

_Leo sat with his head in his hands as Oboro blabbed to Selena, the brown-haired girl reading a magazine about Hoshidan fashion. No doubt this is what prompted Oboro's rambling. Leo zoned out until he heard his name. "So yeah, stay away from Leo, Selena. He might look nice, but he's a total creep."_

_"I am right here, you know."_

_Oboro glared at him. "Oh, like how I was right there when I walked in on you and Mozume almost kissing?!"_

_"She was coming onto me, not the other way around! And she was drunk!"_

_"You were both drunk!"_

_"I don't drink… anymore."_

_Selena chuckled. "This guy sounds like too much of a dope to be one of those creeps."_

_…_

_Leo, Hinata and Selena finished performing for Corrin and Niles in the former's apartment. Corrin's hair was a little less wild, and Niles' hair was styled into a ponytail. The albino woman winced. "It sounded… okay."_

_"Why don't you have a drummer?" Niles bluntly asked, wearing his sunglasses even then._

_The bandmates all stared blankly at their audience, then at each other. Selena shrugged. "I think Oboro's roommate knows drums."_

_…_

_On the way out, Hinata split off, but Leo and Selena went over into the alleyway. They began to make out, their hands both grasping various spots on each other. They were both getting into it, until Niles cleared his throat._

_"What?!"_

_"Niles! I thought you'd… walk past without seeing us," Leo said._

_"Uh, yeah. I can't see out this eye, but I can still hear you." He grinned. "Although if you need an audience…"_

_"Go away!" They both shouted._

_…_

_"You're dating Selena?!" Oboro cried, blocking Leo from entering her dorm._

_"Uh… yes? How did you not know?"_

_Oboro sighed. "Fine, she's in her room…"_

_The angrier student allowed Leo to walk into the dormitory. Leo knocked on Selena's open door when he approached, and only got a grunt for his troubles. "Uh, Selena?"_

_He walked in and noticed Selena had dyed her hair red. She did not even look at him as she browsed on her laptop. "Oh. Hey Leo…"_

_Leo nodded. "Uh, me and Hinata were going to grind for some money in the woods, we heard there might be thieves there. Maybe we could all see a movie or something after?"_

_"Eh, I'm looking for a new mic. You guys go ahead."_

_The boy winced. "Are you sure, Selena? I mean… It's our eight-month anniversary. You kept telling me the first seven times, so I figured…"_

_"Stop being so obsessed all the time, Leo!' Selena finally faced him. "And can you do me a favor? Call me 'Luna' from now on."_

* * *

With the fight postponed, and the night young, Leo and Sakura walked into Pizza Fang, a restaurant known for using wyverns to heat the pizzas. Inside, Niles and Other Leo flagged them down.

"Hey, it's Leo and Sakura," Niles said, signaling for the two to join his table, and they did. "How is my favorite boy/girl couple? Where've you been since the show ended?"

Sakura's strange purple glow returned. "W-we don't want to talk about it!"

"Well this place has pretty good pizza," Other Leo said. He took another slice and quickly forced it all down. "Real Windmire-style pizza right here, none of that chain restaurant crap."

Niles smirked. "Dude, you've only lived here for two months."

"And that was all the time I needed!"

Leo sighed. "Luna wanted to mess with all of us. And it turns out her new boyfriend is one of Sakura's exes."

"Leo! I said I didn't want to talk about it…" Sakura seemingly shrunk.

"Oh yeah, the perfect guy." Other Leo nodded. "I heard he's psychic. You know, I'm psychic too."

Main Leo did a double-take. "Wait, what?!" His eyes widened. "Are you perfect too?!"

Niles shook his head. "Nah, Other Leo's psychic for his own reasons."

"Well, do you think you could teach me anything?"

Other Leo waffled his hand. "Technically… nah. Nah. It'd take you years."

Main Leo slumped back and sighed. "Great. There goes one way of fighting Subaki…"

Niles reached for a pizza slice. "Man, that Selena. I hate her so much, I almost kinda love her."

Sakura tilted her head. "H-how do you all know each other, anyway?"

…

_Leo, Hinata, Niles and Luna all gathered in Leo's basement to play Mario Party together. Niles chuckled. "Pink Yoshi's getting screwed now!"_

_"It's Birdo! Stupid…" Luna muttered. "Whatever. That's it, I quit!" She got up and went up the stairs. Leo turned back to her._

_"Where are you going?"_

_"This game's a waste of time!"_

_"Don't we need a fourth player?" Hinata asked, but Luna had already left. "Hey Leo, what about your sister?"_

_"Wow. How many times has Selena walked out on us now? Time to bring out the D-Word," Niles stated. Leo glared._

_"Do you really have to call it that, Niles?"_

_"…I meant 'dump', Leo. As in, you should dump her."_

* * *

Leo and Sakura sat together on the latter's couch, as Sakura wrote something. The young man leaned his head back as he looked over. "So what are you writing?"

"Oh, this? Well, you don't seem to like your apartment very much."

"Uh-huh…"

She smiled and showed him the list. "So I wrote you a list of decorations you could buy. T-to make your apartment feel more like a home! Here!"

Leo took the list and looked it over. "…What in blazes is a… Nye-Ann Cat?"

"You mean Nyan Cat?" Sakura corrected.

He blinked. "…You mean that stupid cat-rainbow thing? Ugh… I'm not buying a pillow of that. Do they even make pillows of that?"

"B-but it's cute! And they do!"

"Ugh…" He glanced over the list. "I kind of need an income before I can look into this. We're living off Niles' income right now. But I'll keep it in mind." He awkwardly looked around. "Uh… thanks." His eyes widened. "Wait, first I have to get past that Subaki guy. What's your story with him?"

Sakura's good mood went away. "Is that… really important?"

"Well if there's an important detail, then yes! Just like with Benn-" Leo suddenly remembered Benny's story of how Sakura and Subaki first got together. "Benny… You know, he had an… interesting detail about how the two of you broke up."

"Leo…"

He shook his head. "No, no, I know you were all kids at the time, it doesn't matter now."

The young woman sighed. "Well… Benny was right. I didn't feel for him, like he did for me… I was enamored with… with Subaki from the moment I first saw him. He said he felt the same, so we fell in love…"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Ignoring the part where he was two-timing on Selena."

"W-well it's not like I was better… I hadn't officially broken it off with Benny yet…"

Hearing that, the boy blinked. He suddenly recalled his shady situation with Selkie. "Uh, so anyway! Anything to know about Subaki?!"

Sakura sighed. "So we dated for a while… but then apparently he came of age… or something. H-his parents said he had to train to become perfect. I never really asked. But we stopped seeing each other for his training. After he came back, he was… more confident."

"Wait, Subaki said he only dated you _before_ he was perfect!" Leo cried. "That lying-"

"And then he punched a hole in the moon for me."

Leo paused. "I'm sorry, what?!"

* * *

Sakura and Leo stood together on the stoop in front of Sakura's front door. They forewent their coats, seeing as it was the beginning of May. Both looked up at the night sky. "Well I'll be," Leo started, "there really is a hole. And a second one right next to it."

An extra-large crater was visible on the moon's surface. Sakura turned to him. "I know the moon rotates, but… you never noticed before?"

He shrugged. "You just kind of take the moon for granted after a while."

"Hey," Sakura changed the subject, "do you mind telling me how you and your roommate met?"

"Me and Niles?"

…

_Leo and Niles sat in the gym together during their senior year of high school. Niles wore sunglasses even back then, as he turned to Leo. "So Leo. Does this assembly suck? Or does it_ suck? _"_

_"…It sucks? I guess?"_

_Niles nodded. "You passed the test, Leo."_

_"How do you know me again?"_

_…_

_At Leo's family dinner table, Niles leaned back, guffawing. "And that's not even the best part! Leo still had his socks on the entire time!"_

_Camilla and Elise roared with laughter, and Corrin merely chuckled. Leo glared. "Why do you know these things about me?!"_

_The eldest sister wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh, Niles. You're such a card. Feel free to come over when you'd like."_

_Niles shrugged. "Well a pretty face and free food, who am I to turn down?"_

_Camilla and Niles both laughed, while Leo rolled his eyes. "Change of subject, but I'm guessing Dad's showing Xander around the office again today."_

_…_

Leo looked Sakura in the eyes. "Niles sweettalked my oldest sister and became a freeloader until we went to college for a year. After that, he lucked into a job in customer service, and we ended up getting a place together."

"Oh. Okay." Sakura giggled at the man's bluntness. "It's good to know you remember that much at least."

"Like I said, some moments stand out. Living with Niles for so long helps him stick in my mind," Leo said, pointing to his head. "For better or worse."

"What other things stick out?"

Leo shrugged. "A few things. I remember one time I saved Elise from this bully. Then after that, she and I started a band with this other girl. I think I told you about that." Sakura nodded. "Elise went from violin to drums, the other girl played guitar, and I tried to play bass with my brother's acoustic guitar. We sucked."

Sakura giggled again.

"I don't remember how Elise stopped playing violin, exactly. That part escapes me." He shrugged and held Sakura's shoulders. "But I don't like to think about that time in my life. I prefer the present."

She smiled and put her arms around his waist, resting against Leo. "I do too."

* * *

_At band practice in Leo's basement, Hinata took Luna off to the side. "Sele-"_

_"Luna!"_

_"Fine! Luna! Why is Beruka drumming?!"_

_"We needed a drummer, Hinata! You said you were fine with it!"_

_"I said we'd think about it!"_

_Beruka blinked. "I can hear the two of you."_

_Leo walked up to the two of them. "Me too. So here's_ my _question- what happened to my guitar?"_

_Luna turned around to face Leo. "Your brother's acoustic? I threw it away, Leo! I bought you a real bass, it's about time you had one!"_

_He gasped. "But I liked the old one! And it wasn't even yours to throw away! What am I going to tell Xander?!"_

_A younger man with messy hair and a buttoned-up shirt had been slouching on the couch. "This isn't what I had in mind when you said you'd let me hang out with you guys."_

_"Shut up, Young Dwyer!" Luna, Leo and Hinata shouted as one._

_"Rude…" He flipped open his Nintendo 3DS. "By the way, you know I have a bass right? I would've let you use it…"_

_…_

_Hinata kept fencing with a training dummy in the gym while Leo sat in a chair and read. After finishing up, the fencer walked over to Leo on a bleacher. He began to wear his hair in a ponytail. "Leo, man! This is crazy! We're gonna become big!"_

_Leo did not look up from his book. "Not until Luna finally decides on a name." He sighed. "What's her deal?"_

_"You were okay with it before."_

_"Yeah, when it was just a hobby! She's turning this into an actual job now!"_

_"Yeah, man! Look, I'm not happy about the Beruka thing either, but she is pretty good at drums!"_

_"Meh..."_

* * *

**Club Skull  
** **(A known PokeStop in Nohr)**

Leo walked around the establishment, hands in his pockets. There was not much to the club besides a bar and the stage. Tables were everywhere. He did not recognize most of the patrons, except for a certain pair. At that table sat Niles and Corrin. Leo smirked. "You know, for being mad at him over Silas, you hang out with Niles a lot."

"She can't keep herself away!" Niles teased. Corrin merely shook her head.

"I don't like Selena, Leo. She fell into the wrong crowd. You have my permission to go wild."

"Uh, you know I'm fighting her _boyfriend_ , right?" Leo asked.

Corrin gave a devious grin. "Yeah. Make an example out of him. He's a jerk too."

"…I think I need to get out of this conversation."

…

Sakura sat at another table. She enjoyed the company of Elise, Camilla and an older man with black and white hair. He wore a lot of denim. "Uh, who are you again? I'm sorry if you already told me!"

**Name: Shura  
** **Status: Camilla's roommate**

"Shura. I'm Camilla's roommate."

"I had to get him out of the apartment," Camilla told the girl. "So anyway! You're dating our little Leo now!"

"Uh… yes. A f-few days ago he came by my house…"

"Oh my," Camilla wiggled her eyebrows.

Sakura's face began to match her hair. "A-are you inferring something? I-I didn't mean it like that! W-we were just t-talking! Ab-about the moon! Aaand how he s-saved Elise from a bully o-one time!"

Camilla grinned and ruffled Sakura's hair, to the latter's discomfort. "I was only teasing, dear."

Elise frowned. "I wasn't bullied."

"Oh. Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Camilla said, realizing what Sakura had told her.

Shura shrugged. "Maybe it was something neither of you knew about." Elise frowned, finding herself unable to believe that. Suddenly Shura gasped. "Uh, is that closet door meant to be open?! Because it totally is!"

Sakura and the two sisters all looked where Shura was pointing and gasped. In the broom closet, Subaki and Beruka were making out. The Hoshidan shook her head. "I don't believe it!"

"How tasteless of him," Camilla surmised.

"Also he just looks like he's a bad kisser," said Elise. Everyone looked at her. "Well he does!"

"Hey. You're Sakura, right?" Everyone turned to the source of the voice- Luna. She folded her arms. "So what, you're here to be Leo's cheerleader or something? Don't bother, he's not gonna win."

Shura looked around nervously. "Uh, should we tell her-"

"Hey, no one asked you!" Luna snapped. "I'm talking to Sakura!"

The older man narrowed his eyes. "…Fine."

"So Sakura, let's go hit the bar. I want to talk."

Sakura gulped, and nodded. She quietly got up and followed Selena over to the bar. As they walked, Luna spoke. "You know, before coming to Windmire, we did a show overseas. A place called Duke's Palace. Heard of it?" Sakura's gasped. "Thought so."

The shoe clerk took a deep breath. "Why… are you telling me this?"

"To tell you that I know what you're really like," Luna answered. "Leo likes to paint me as this cruel harpy woman, but you're just as bad!" She rolled her eyes. "And I'm not stupid! I know what people think of me! But they're taking it too far! So I'm challenging you to a duel!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!" Luna suddenly produced a long microphone. She twisted at the top and pulled off what appeared to be a sheath. Suddenly she had a two-handed sword. "Time to play!"

Sakura waved her hands defensively. "H-hold on! What is this going to do?!"

"I have to be the best! My mother was a musician too. First I wanted nothing to do with it, but then I realized I could beat her at her own game!" Luna explained. "But Hinata kept freaking out and Leo kept slacking off, so I had to find my own way!"

"I don't understand what this has to do with me…" Sakura admitted.

"You're someone I could've become! I have to beat you to prove that I'm past that!"

Sakura blinked. "Uh…"

"HYA!" Luna ran at Sakura with her sword, but the Hoshidan thought fast and produced a scroll from her round purse. Sakura dodged her opponent's sword attack, and waved her scroll. Sakura conjured an ox made of pure energy. It charged at Luna and bucked her, sending her into the air. "Waaah!"

But Luna managed to turn the tide and repositioned herself in the air. She aimed her sword downward to skewer Sakura. The shoe clerk managed to dodge, but now their fight was attracting attention.

"Whoa, dudes! Luna's fighting this crazy Hoshidan chick!"

"Go get 'er, Luna!"

Luna smirked and removed her sword from the ground, holding it skyward. People's voices began to be absorbed into the blade.

**POPULARITY POWER!  
** **+5 Atk  
** **+4 Def  
** **+4 Crit**

The singer began swinging her sword over and over, casting energy waves for Sakura to dodge. She managed to jump over two, but a third tripped her. "Aaah!"

"You're mine!" Luna ran over to strike Sakura once and for all, but Sakura threw her scroll at Luna's face with crack shot aim. "Hey!"

Using this distraction, Sakura stood up and pulled Fujin Yumi from her purse. The bowstring appeared and she fired at Luna. One arrow grazed her, and brought the star to her senses. The second arrow was deflected with a sword swing, as was the third.

"Rip her twintails off, Sakura!" a familiar voice cried. Sakura and Luna looked for the voice's source and found Niles among the spectators. "Red's not even her real color!"

"Shut up, Niles!" Sakura's eyes lit up and she took the chance to shoot Luna again. "Aaah! Why you…!" Luna swung her sword in place several times, with each slash creating a stationary wave of energy. She stomped her foot. "GO!"

Each and every wave then flew out at once toward Sakura (and some unlucky spectators). Sakura ducked down on the floor to get as low as possible, but this left her open for Luna to attack. However-

"Don't let her beat you, Sakura, Selena's just a pretty boy!"

Luna glared. "I am not! And don't you call me- Whoa!" Luna felt Sakura grab hold of her foot and pulling on it, destroying her balance. Luna glared and tried kicking her leg to shake Sakura off, but it failed.

"Uhh… Ah!" In desperation, Sakura bit into Luna's ankle.

"Yaaaaah!"

Sakura let go completely, as Luna fell onto her back. The less popular fighter of the two reclaimed her bow and aimed it point blank at Luna's face. "Leave me alone!"

Luna sighed, dropping her sword. "Fine! Whatever…"

"Here they are!" Corrin said, dragging Leo by the wrist. The young man's eyes bulged.

"Wait, what's going on?!"

Sakura blushed and put her bow away. "Uh, we were… fighting. I won…" She glanced over at Luna. "Uh, sorry about that! I didn't want to, b-but you started it..."

Leo nodded. "Wow, nicely done."

"Leo, that's not the point!" Corrin yelled.

"Grrr!" Luna got back up. "You sleazes! You both deserve each other!" She took a deep breath and cupped her hands. "Subaki, I don't care if we're on soon! Get out here and fight Leo already!"

"Subaki's cheating on you!" Sakura yelled, bringing the club to a screeching halt. Several people gasped, some covered their mouths. Niles only shrugged.

"…What was that?" Luna asked in an unnervingly calm tone.

"Uhh!" Sakura blushed and began to brush some hair behind her ear. "I-I saw him… Me and a few others… w-we saw him… i-in the broom… broom closet… with… with your drummer."

Luna glared. "How dare you! Sure Subaki's made mistakes in the past, but he's better now! Ever since he became perfect-"

"He dated me again after he finished his training!" Sakura interrupted.

"B-but…" the singer faltered. "Oh wait! The moon! He punched a hole in the moon for me! That's true love!"

Sakura sighed, discovering that Luna was even more of a victim than she first realized. "S-Selena… he did that for me too… He did that for me _first_ …"

Luna blinked.

"…O-oh… Ohhh… So… the reason there are two holes on the moon… is…"

"What's all the commotion?" Subaki asked, approaching the scene. Everyone looked at him, Luna included. Subaki held hands with Beruka.

"How dare you?!"

Subaki tensed up. "Uh, I can explain!"

"We're in love," Beruka said simply. "…Sorry."

With all her fury, Luna picked her sword back up and cast another energy wave at her former friends. Beruka teleported out of the club, while Subaki held his hands out, stopping the wave. "Luna, please. We can talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?! I thought we realized we were the only ones for each other! You lied to me!"

"But… I'm perfect! That means everything I do is okay!"

"…What?!"

"Like this!" Subaki focused his gaze and telekinetically sent the energy wave back at Luna, knocking her back. Everyone gasped. "What? I just said that I'm perfect! Hitting her was okay!"

Leo cracked his knuckles. "That's it."

**_BOSS: SUBAKI_ **

He waltzed over to the pretty man. "What, now you want to-" **_POW!_**

Leo smirked, satisfied in that punch to the face. He massaged his wrist, as Subaki psychically picked himself up off the floor. The perfectionist scowled. "Not so perfect now, are you, Subaki?"

"It seems our unfinished business calls to us."

Leo got into a fighting stance. "I don't like Luna, but I especially don't like you."

"Tell that to the cleaning lady on Monday."

"…What?"

"Because I'm going to destroy you in three seconds."

Leo tilted his head. "Wait, what's on Monday then?"

Subaki quirked his brow. "Uh, that's the cleaning lady's next day. It's Friday now, but she has weekends off. So on Monday, your remains will still be here, and she'll dust them. With the dust mop." Subaki pantomimed dusting. "She dusts."

"…It's Thursday, dude," Leo told him.

Subaki said nothing and blasted Leo to the floor with his mind powers. "Let's finish this." He looked over to the stage and willed his guitar into his hand. "I can play bass with my mind. You'll need this." He tossed the guitar to Leo on the floor. "Begin!"

**BASS BATTLE!**

**Subaki: 50% Popular  
** **Leo: 50% Popular**

Subaki's mind created an instant bassline, so Leo got up and did the same with the real guitar. They kept one-upping each other with progressively fancier basslines, until it was apparent that Leo could not win.

**Subaki: 81% Popular  
** **Leo: 19% Popular**

"He may be a creep, but he is pretty talented," Niles confessed. Sakura and Corrin both glared at him.

"Screw this!" Leo stopped playing, ran over to Subaki and smacked him in the face with the guitar, breaking it and knocking him down again.

"AAAAHHHH!" He got back up. "You… You think that's enough? Watch!" Subaki's eyes glowed, his hair no longer subjected to gravity. He levitated and held out his hand. "You're through."

Leo found himself punching his own face over and over. When Subaki grew tired of that, he threw Leo into the bar, knocking over a few bottles in the process. "Aaaaaah!"

Subaki teleported to the bar, staring sternly at his prey. "Any last words?"

Leo reached for a bottle and quickly threw it at Subaki's thigh. "Bottoms up!"

Subaki allowed the bottle to break upon contact, without flinching. "Pathetic. I'm perfect, a little bottle won't do anything to me."

"But what about your clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Just look."

Subaki realized that there was a large stain on his pantleg. "A stain?!"

A police car burst from the ground in the club, and an officer emerged. "FREEZE! PERFECT PATROL!" He had blond hair and a large chin. He held his index finger like a gun, with sights trained on Subaki. The floating man grounded himself and held up his arms. "Subaki, you are found guilty of violating Perfection Protocol #1216- a stain on otherwise spotless clothes. You're under arrest."

"What?! B-but this is only my first offense! I get three strikes, don't I?!"

The patrolman shook his head and pulled out a tiny notebook. "Earlier this evening, you were heard mistaking today for Friday."

"Uh… I thought Leo was lying?"

"A real perfect person would know the difference. Wretch. And then those holes you punched into the moon. Those weren't perfectly round holes, but ovals! _Ovals!_ "

All the spectators gasped. Subaki gulped. "Uhh… I have nothing."

The patrolman donned glasses. "The Imperfectionizer. Clear!" He fired a wave from his finger, forcing Subaki to his hands and knees.

" **Noooooo….** "

With Subaki newly depowered, Leo walked over to him. "You know, I was hoping I'd have some kind of one-liner prepared. But I think I used all my creative juices on 'bottoms up' earlier."

Subaki winced. "…At least humor me?"

Leo headbutted Subaki, reducing him to gold coins, scattered everywhere.

**_KO!_ **

**_+3000 pts!_ **

**_1-UP!_ **

Leo saw a floating, two-dimensional picture of his face. He grabbed it and turned to face the crowd. "Uhh… I guess River City Ransom's not performing tonight."

"…Boooo!"

"Yeah that figures."

* * *

**Two Days Later – Windmire Bus Common**

Leo, Sakura and Niles had joined Luna at the bus station, ready to see her off. Leo run a hand through his hair. "Hey… I'm sorry about… your band."

Luna sighed. "Yeah… it sucks. And I guess I'm sorry I fought your girlfriend."

"Mmm…"

"Eh."

Leo and Luna stared at each other for a minute. Ultimately, the girl shrugged and hopped onto the bus.

"Next time. I guess." With no more words, the bus departed. Leo watched her go, as Sakura approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you?"

"I feel… okay," Leo told her. "No strong feelings one way or the other. I guess that's better than last time. I would've liked some closure, but you can't get everything."

Niles shrugged. "Whatever, guy. I'm just glad she's out of our hair." He clapped his hands. "C'mon, kids. Let's go eat something. The infinite sadness is over and summer's on the way!" Leo and Sakura looked at each other with big smiles.

It was hard to argue with that logic.

**[CHAPTER 3 CLEAR! WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE?]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I didn't come up with Stahlbucks, thank Anghelic for that one.
> 
> I think Selena and Subaki are the first characters to really suffer from the story's OOC-ness. Odin was silly and Benny still had his gentle side. But I do throw Selena a bone, so it's mostly Subaki who gets an unfavorable portrayal. Just a reminder, I don't have anything against these characters.
> 
> Selena/Luna is Natalie/Envy because she's a bit of a snob and has the red hair. Veganism, from what I've heard, requires a lot of dedication. I mean, there are so many food/drink options closed off to you if you decide to go vegan. So Subaki seemed like a character who'd fit Todd's role, even though here it's "perfection" and not "veganism". He's psychic for the same reason as Crash and the Boys. Beruka is the Demonheads' drummer. A bit role mostly, but she's a quiet character like the drummer, and she knows Selena in canon, so there. Another comic-only character is Joseph, Hollie's roommate. He's a jerk, I don't like him. He does have some funny lines, though. I gave that role to Shura mostly because by that time, I was running out of characters.
> 
> The song that Selena sings is Justified, which is used as the end credits theme in Dead Rising. In the comics, Wallace didn't date Other Scott, but a psychic guy named Mobile. Here, I just transferred that to Other Leo. Also, I cut out the Honest Ed's sequence. While it's funny and provides an interesting look into Todd Ingram's character, I felt it extended things too much. Leo's backstory with Niles is mostly the same as Scott and Wallace, though I had them meet earlier than university. Sakura and Luna also have a fight, based on Ramona and Envy's fight. Though I removed Scott getting her in the back of the knee. Not sure why, but I just like to think Sakura's willing to fight dirty (and then apologize later).
> 
> Another Princess and the Pauper reference, Oboro calling Leo out for drunkenly almost kissing 'Mozume'. If you read the fic, you'll understand.
> 
> 3 exes down...


	4. Leo Gets It Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer is upon Leo and the gang, as is Sakura's fourth Evil Ex. But when Leo tries to put his life together, and a figure from his foggy past returns, will he be able to fend them off? And who is this mysterious Kitsune hounding him?

**Update:  
** **Leo – Status: Nearly the birthday boy  
** **Sakura – Status: Wanting ice cream**

**Niles – Status: Dying of heat (or exaggerating)  
** **Elise – Status: Looking for a room  
** **Hinata – Status: Dating Oboro again  
** **Young Dwyer – Status: Janitor's son  
** **Selkie – Status: Technically an adult  
** **Corrin – Status: Still wearing that sweater  
** **Oboro – Status: Told to shut the [BLEEP] up by Luna  
Camilla - Status: Doting  
Shura - Status: Doesn't know anyone besides Camilla and Elise  
** **Velouria - Status: Whatever, man  
** **Luna - Status: Out of sight, out of mind**

**Odin Dark – Status: Pocket change  
Benny Lee - Status: Making it rain (coins)  
Subaki - Status: The cleaning lady's tip  
** **Evil Exes #4-7 – Status: Unknown**

**Month: June**

Leo and Niles trudged home together in the blazing summer heat. "Leo… don't drop the groceries…"

"You're the one… who keeps dropping 'em!"

"Okay, got me there."

They both walked into their apartment, which was even hotter than it was outside.

"Aaaah!"

"Guuuuh!"

Leo slowly put the groceries on the counter. "I'm starting to think I should've gone to Oboro's birthday party with the others."

"Her birthday's in November," Niles told him.

"Whatever, then! I don't know, she throws a lot of parties! I don't want to argue!" Leo shouted.

Niles sank into the armchair. "By the way, we need to talk to the landlord soon."

"Ugh, that guy…" Leo fell onto the mattress. "Why do we both need to?"

"Because after you accidentally offend him, he'll be more likely to listen to me and my bargains."

"You're the worst."

Niles smirked. "Save it for the landlord, big guy." He took off his sunglasses and grabbed the remote. "By the way, how are you and Sakura lately? You break out the L-Word yet?"

Leo looked over. "What?"

"The L-Word. You know."

"You mean… 'lesbian?'"

Niles sighed. "The _other_ L-Word."

Leo blinked. "…Lesbians?'"

"'Love', Leo. I'm talking about 'Love.' I wasn't trying to trick you."

"Oh." He winced. "Um… Not yet."

* * *

Leo and Hinata carried large boxes in the heat, hating every minute of it. "Whyyyyy?" Hinata moaned.

"Come on, why can't you be more like Effie?!" Elise shouted. She motioned to a woman in a pink tracksuit carrying boxes with great ease. "She doesn't complain!"

"Probably because she knows this means she'll have an apartment to herself," Leo jabbed.

Hinata nearly dropped his box. "So which sister are you moving in with again?"

"Camilla," Leo and Elise answered at once.

"Oh."

Hinata and Leo went into the apartment. Hinata went upstairs second, so instead of following Leo, he was distracted by Shura's open bedroom. The older man rested on his bed. "Who're you?"

But the nervous man gasped. "Whoa! You have a recording studio in your room?!"

Shura looked around his bedroom. He did have such equipment. "Yeah. One of my friends left it here and never came back for it. I don't really know how to use it or anything…"

"Can the Rockin' Troopas record an album with this?!"

"I dunno!"

* * *

Leo and Sakura sat together on the back porch of Sakura's place. By this time, Sakura had started wearing summer clothes, a white shirt and red long shorts. Leo insisted on his polos and jeans. "You wouldn't overheat if you wore something lighter," she said.

"Everything I have is a polo or jeans…"

Sakura frowned. "I should take you shopping sometime… or you could find a new job."

"I've tried to!"

"Do… I could ask if Oboro could have an opening…"

Leo sweat for reasons other than heat. "No, that… that would not go well. You know, you try to look after me a lot. Why?"

"What?" She stared incredulously. "B-because I care about you! W-wouldn't you do the same for me?"

Leo blinked. "Well… yeah. Say, why do you care about me anyway?"

"Why would you ask that? We're together, of course I would care about you."

"Yes, but… it's been a few months now, I thought we should talk about something like that." He shrugged. "I don't know… What do we like about each other?"

"Well… You're very smart… and you say what needs to be said. You're honest."

Eyebrow. "I'm honest? I don't think a lot of people have said that about me… Let's see, what I like most about you is…" He struggled for a moment. "It's not that I can't think of it, it's just hard to put into words!"

She pouted.

"Don't look at me like that! Uhh…" Leo ran a hand through his hair. "You… you're… nice."

"…Oh."

"Oh?! It was a compliment!" The young man was growing frustrated with himself, resulting in a sigh. "No, you're right, that's not doing you justice… I don't know what it is, but it's just… I've felt happier ever since I met you. Before then, I was just kind of going through the motions."

"Really?" Leo nodded. "Hmm. I think I remember that dream of yours where we met, you felt pretty upset."

"Hold the phone, I thought of something." This caught Sakura's attention. "When is your birthday?"

"O-oh… It happened a few days after you fought Owain. I turned 20…"

"What?! You should've said something!"

"Well I didn't want you to make a fuss… Besides, you said you don't have a lot of money, so it's just as well."

He crossed his arms and glared out to the distance. "Man I need a job…"

* * *

**_DON'T YOU WISH YOUR GIRLFRIEND WAS HOT LIKE ME? DON'T YOU-_** In addition to the ringtone, the pure heat of the apartment stirred Leo from his slumber. Drenched in sweat, he felt his skin sticking to the mattress before he raised his arm to reach for his phone. "Niles… why did you change my ringtone?"

" _Hey Leo, I'm at work right now."_

"But you called me…"

" _Yeah, I'm telling you there's a heat wave warning… or whatever. Our apartment is an oven, so you need to get out of there today._ "

"Ugh… fine…"

" _And remember, we have to meet the landlord soon!_ "

"Uuuuuugh."

* * *

Leo did not fare much better while he lazed on a bench at the mall. The underground location was quite novel, but plenty of heat still wafted in. However, his heat funk did not prevent him from noticing a certain blonde woman in a red tanktop. "Hey… you… I know you."

She looked back. "Huh? Wait, you're… Leo, is that you?"

"Yeah. Scarlet, right?"

**Name: Scarlet  
** **Status: Friend from high school**

"Yeah. Um… How's it going?"

"Pretty good, I guess. I'm unemployed and it's hot, but my sister and I are in a band again, and I'm seeing someone."

"Huh. This is gonna sound forward, but you sound a little different than before."

"What are you talking about?"

Scarlet shrugged. "You usually didn't talk to me unless you had to."

Leo shrugged. "That… No I'm pretty sure we've had casual conversations."

"I definitely remember that we didn't. But whatever, man, it's in the past now." She went to sit beside Leo on the bench. "So how is Elise doing anyway?"

"Oh, she just moved in to our sister's place. Our oldest sister. If you're not busy, we might be able to see her."

Scarlet grinned. "You know what? Why not!"

* * *

Leo and Scarlet entered Elise's new place, and found Young Dwyer lying on the couch, playing his 3DS. "Young Dwyer?"

"Hey Leo."

"Uh, are my sisters here?"

"No."

"Really? Where are they?"

"The new restaurant, Black Bottom," Young Dwyer explained. "Hinata and I came to record with Camilla's roommate, but they've been together for hours and won't let me in."

"Oh… I guess we're going to Black Bottom, Scarlet."

Scarlet shrugged. "All right."

"Later, Young Dwyer." Leo and Scarlet left. When he was alone, Young Dwyer looked up at the door.

"Maybe I wanted to go, too…"

* * *

**Black Bottom**

Every piece of furniture, all the walls and floor, even all the decorations and employee uniforms were nothing but black. It made all the guests really stand out, making it easier for Leo to recognize Elise, Camilla and Oboro at a table together.

"Hey Elise, hey Camilla, hey… Oboro?"

Oboro glared. "What, I can't spend time with people besides Hinata?!"

Scarlet chuckled at the hostility. "Nice first impression. Anyway, it's good to see you again Elise!"

"Scarlet?! Oh my gods!" Elise had an aisle seat at the table, so she managed to stand up and hug Scarlet, the freckled woman laughed and returned it. "It's been ages! What's going on? What've you been doing? Why are you back in Windmire? I missed you!"

Camilla smirked. "So this is the famous Scarlet."

Scarlet nodded. "And you're Camilla, right? I remember Elise talking about you."

"How long are you staying in town, Scarlet?" Elise asked.

"Haha, until the summer ends. I'm taking over my Gramps' family business over in Shirasagi. Hoshido."

"Wow that's so cool, Scarlet! I know you always wanted to do that!" the young woman gushed. From there, Elise had Camilla and Oboro make room for Leo and Scarlet. Elise then proceeded to talk Scarlet's ear off about all manner of things, and Scarlet enjoyed every moment of it. At times, Camilla would join in, but not once was Leo made part of the conversation. In fact, he and Oboro both began to feel like the odd ones out. Leo then shivered at the idea that he and Oboro had common ground.

"Hi Leo." Sakura's voice snapped Leo out of his zoning. "What are you doing here?"

Leo turned to find his girlfriend. "Huh? Oh, Sakura. I ran into an old high school friend, and reintroduced her to my sisters. How'd you know I was here?"

"She didn't. Duh," Oboro explained. "I invited her here. We talk sometimes, and so do your sisters. Sakura doesn't just show up to be your girlfriend all the time, you know!"

"She's not wrong, Leo… A-anyway I just got here from the shoe store," she told Oboro. "You know, the shoe store? Where I have my job?" Sakura spared a glance at Leo. "And like you want a career in fashion, Oboro? And to save up, you're working three different jobs?" Her eyes drifted back to Leo.

Leo put his head on the table. "I get it, I get it!"

"Leo, don't put your head on the table," Camilla said, finally acknowledging his existence again.

* * *

At Niles' work the next day, he reclined on the wall by a water cooler. "So that's when I took the nomads' request to drive them to the bowling alley. We had a good talk, he told me about all the spells he liked to cast on himself, and my buddy, haha, he just sits there shotgun, all nervous the whole time. Ah, what a night." **_Vvvvvvvvvvv_** Niles pulled out his phone. "Oh, speak of the devil. Hello?"

The other workers went their own way, freeing Niles to speak. " _Niles, it's Leo. Say… there aren't any openings at your place, are there?_ "

The man smirked. "Well, well, well. Look who finally comes looking for work."

" _Niles, please._ "

"Ooh. What are you willing to do for it?"

" _Look, if you don't have any positions available, then just say so!_ "

He was enjoying this too much. "Oh I know plenty of positions, Leo, but you never want to see them."

" _NILES!_ "

A sigh. "No, no openings here at the office. Tough luck, guy."

" _Ugh… Fine._ "

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have any more openings?!"

"I'm sorry, Leo. But it's exactly as I said. No more openings," Camilla stated. The siblings were in the empty video store again, with Leo hassling Camilla during her shift. The boy put his hands on the counter.

"Why not? You gave Elise a job!"

"Yes, and I had to jump through a lot of hoops for the manager to okay that." She narrowed her eyes. "It's literally nepotism. I can't pull it off twice. Besides, business is dreadfully slow lately. We might even have to let Elise go if things don't pick up."

"What? Does Elise know?"

"Of course she knows! Leo, give our little sister some credit! She's looking for a job too!"

Leo sighed in defeat. He marched on out of Greg's Videos, unaware of the large fox prowling in the bushes nearby.

* * *

**Dusk Central State University – Gymnasium  
** **(Fencing Classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays)**

The gym at DCSU was pretty nice. Two-stories, with workout equipment and an indoor track on the entrance floor, with stairs leading down to more equipment, and three basketball courts. Hinata sat on the bleachers in the gym, wiping his sweat with a towel.

"I dunno man. I've seen you fence, you're not that good."

"Ugh! Fine, if you won't let me help with your classes, then is there _something_ in this gym I can do?"

The fencing instructor shrugged. "I dunno… I think the cafeteria could use a new cook. I've had their food, it sucks! Your cooking's pretty good, though!"

Leo nodded. "I do discriminate food based on which ones will give me the most stat gains. And the highest taste ratings… But there's no way this school could have a budget like that. And besides, I dropped out… I did drop out, right?"

"You did," Hinata shook his head. "Dude, I'm sure if you'd just apply, it could work!"

* * *

"So you want to be a cook?" asked one of the workers in the university's cafeteria.

"Yes. Uh, when would, uh, when would be a good time for an interview?"

The worker shrugged. "Whatever, man. The food sucks anyway, you can have the job. Come in for orientation at noon tomorrow, we'll get you started the day after."

Leo was about to comment on how easy this had worked out. How it was a little too easy, and that own ease should have been a red flag. But before he could say anything-

**CLASS CHANGE!**

**Leo**

**Lv. 20 NEET to Lv. 1 Cook**

**HP +4  
** **Str +6  
** **Mag +2  
** **Skill +9  
** **Spd +0  
** **Luck +1  
** **Def +2  
** **Res +5**

**Gained the ability to equip Cutlery**

Leo shrugged. "As they say, I have to seek new challenges."

Hinata slapped him on the back. "Hey good on you, Leo! You just get a job! Let's go celebrate when I get off work, huh?"

"Yeah…"

* * *

Leo waited for Hinata's shift to finish for the day, and the two left campus together. But on their way, they passed through some tall grass and a large Kitsune popped out. " _Grrr! You're in trouble, Leo!_ "

Leo had expected Selkie's voice, but this was a masculine Kitsune. "What do you want? Are you one of Sakura's evil ex-boyfriends?"

" _That's not important right now!_ "

**Name: Unknown  
** **Status: Random Boss Encounter (the worst kind of random encounter)**

"Uh, Leo just got a job, so can this wait?" Hinata asked.

Leo put a finger to his chin. "Then again, if I'm wounded from fighting this thing, I can probably prolong the time before I have to start coming in."

"Dude!"

" _Wow you really are a jerk!_ " the Kitsune said.

Leo glared. "I don't have to justify myself to you! Who even are you?" Instead of answering, the fox pounced. Leo and Hinata split up and evaded the attack. When enough distance had been ensured, Leo's hands glowed. He thrust his arms and created tree branches to hold the fox in place. "Now wait there!"

" _Aw man! This wasn't even a fight! You're just gonna leave me like this? You're so lazy!_ "

"So where'd you want to go, Hinata?"

"Pizza Fang!"

"Ugh, I don't really care for that place."

"C'mon, man!"

"All right, fine!"

* * *

Young Dwyer sat on his couch, this time _not_ playing a video game. He watched Hinata packing up some band equipment. "Why didn't you tell me about Pizza Fang? I was in the area." Hinata only shrugged. "And how come you guys don't practice anymore?"

"We're recording, man!"

"You and one of Elise's roommates. How come Leo and Elise don't help with that?"

"They… Sometimes they do!"

"Why only sometimes?"

Hinata changed the subject. "Look, the drums are over there anyway, so there's no point going back and forth! If you wanna come over, you could just ask!"

"Muh…"

* * *

After orientation, Leo united with Niles to meet with their landlord. They made their way up to his office, a cluttered room with more than a few cat-themed decorations, a wall map of a tropical location, and a photo of a young, purple-haired girl on the desk. Their landlord was a tired man in black and red. Like Corrin, he appeared to have albino traits. He slouched in his chair. "Niles. Leo. Why are you here?"

The newly appointed cook anxiously put his fingers together. "Well, about our rent…"

"What rent?" the landlord asked. "You guys signed a one-year lease. On the 28th of July. It'll be up in a little over a month."

Niles stared, under his sunglasses. "Oh yeah… We did do that, didn't we?" Leo furrowed his brow in thought.

"Yeah." The older man shrugged. "So if you want to stay, you can move to a month-by-month plan. Or you can get lost by July 28th."

"Hm. That's not long after my sister's birthday," Leo noticed.

"I don't really care. So yeah. Now get out of my office." No longer paying attention to his tenants, the landlord opened his desk drawer and pulled out a sack lunch. He ate, heedless of Leo and Niles' presence, thus they left.

On the elevator ride down, Niles and Leo looked at each other. "So… I have some things to do."

"I, uh, yeah me too," Leo said.

They both walked out of the building and went their own ways. "Uh… seeya, guy."

"Yes…"

Leo uncomfortably walked down the sidewalk. He had no real destination, but he figured some alone time would do him good. But his aimless walking was cut short when a familiar figure dropped in front of him from a nearby rooftop. "Leo, we meet again!"

"You're real?!"

Leo was face-to-mask with the pink and white woman from his dream several weeks ago. She still wore that white coat in summer, but also pink workout clothes underneath. The enemy drew her katana. "That's right! I told you I'd come back for you! So your name's Leo, isn't it? Then it's time for me to skin this cat!"

"I bet you were up all night thinking of that one," Leo taunted.

"Sh-shut up!"

"Look, I have work tomorrow, can we do this after or something?" If Leo could see the samurai's face, she would probably be glaring at him. But she quietly put her sword away and walked off. He stood still for a few moments, processing this. "…That actually worked."

* * *

While Leo was mildly enjoying his lunch break, a certain somebody sat down across from him in the cafeteria. "Shak'ra?!"

"Hi Leo."

He swallowed. "Hi. What brings you here?"

Sakura smiled. "I thought I'd come visit you. You didn't tell me you found a job!"

"I didn't? Oh, I guess not. Wait, how'd you-"

"Niles texted me."

"Of course… Yeah, I found it. I was gonna tell the boss that this was too easy, but the level-up distracted me."

She grinned nervously. "Oh. That's for the better, then. You… kind of have a habit of not filtering yourself."

"Is that really a bad thing, though?" Leo asked. "You like my honesty."

"Well… sometimes it's good to be… diplomatic."

"Eh. I prefer when people are honest and cut the- CRAP!"

"Why are you yelling?" Sakura asked, as Leo moved under the table. She turned around and caught the mystery samurai approaching the table. "Hana?!"

The samurai lifted her mask. "Sakura."

**Name: Hana  
** **Status: Teleporting Samurai**

"Tell your boyfriend to stop hiding under the table!"

"I'm on break, that doesn't mean I'm done with work!" Leo yelled from under the table.

Hana narrowed her eyes. "This is a school, why are you even working here?!"

"Summer classes do exist, you know! Wait…" Leo emerged, standing up. "The two of you know each other?"

"Of course we know each other!" Hana yelled. "Now are we going to fight or what?!"

"What for? Are you with that Fox?" Leo redirected his attention to Sakura. "That reminds me, a Fox attacked me the other day. Is he one of your Evil Ex-Boyfriends?"

"Exes. A-and no."

"Okay, why do you keep correcting me when I say that?"

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Um… I'd think… it would be obvious why…"

"Uh, yeah!" Hana added.

Leo blinked. He looked over at Hana. Then at Sakura. Then Hana. Sakura.

**No Clue** \- Gets It  
( _Creeeeek_ )  
No Clue - **Gets It  
** ( _Ding!_ )

"You and her?!"

"I-I was just bi-curious!" Sakura explained.

Hana drew her sword. "And now I'm bi- _furious!_ I was just a phase to you!"

Leo tugged at his collar. "Uh, I'm still technically at work!"

"It's gonna be hard to make food when I chop your arms off!" Hana threatened. She put the mask back down and Sakura threw her purse at Leo.

"Here, hide in that!"

"What?!"

"If you can't fight right now, hide in there!"

"Prepare yourself!" Hana cried, swinging her katana. Leo winced and stuffed his face into the bag. Suddenly, the bag swallowed him whole. Sakura grabbed it and ran out of the cafeteria. "What?! Seriously?!"

Sakura ran down the paved path before shifting her weight to her heels. Wheels emerged from her shoes, allowing her to skate along the path. Leo stuck his head out the bag. "Aaah! It's deceptively large in the- Whoa! What's going on?!"

"We're running!"

"Aah! W-well thanks for getting me out of that!" Leo said. He turned to his head to find Hana running after them. "So far, anyway!"

Sakura focused on getting off the pavement and navigating the parking lot. "Leo do you see a crystal ball in there?!"

"Uh, let me check…" Leo retreated into the bag. The interior had him floating in some type of nebula. Miscellaneous objects were scattered around, but he did ultimately find a crystal ball. "Bingo." He grabbed it and stuck his arm back into reality. "Here it is!"

"Thank you!" Sakura grabbed the crystal ball and focused.

**_FLASH!_ **

Sakura and Leo found themselves in an abandoned courtyard. Grass had grown everywhere, and there were busted dragon statues. "O-okay, you can get out of the bag now…"

Sakura set the bag down and allowed Leo to get out. Afterward, he took in the scenery with a whistle. "Wow. Uh, where is this?"

"I-it's the Astral Plane. This place is a good hub for traveling quicker." She winced. "When we first met, it's because I accidentally passed through your dreamscape while going between the planes."

He smiled. "So we have this place to thank for us meeting each other."

"That's nice. Because it's the last place you'll see each other!" Hana's voice disturbed Leo and Sakura from their conversation. "Did you forget that I can travel to the Astral Plane too?!"

"So _that's_ how you showed up in my dream!"

Sakura gasped. "She tried to attack you in your dream?!"

Leo shrugged. "I didn't think she was a real person, though. I mean, she stopped attacking me when I asked."

"Because of the League's rules," Hana explained. She lifted her mask again and pointed her katana. "The Evil Exes must all take turns. It's stupid, but then again, so's the whole league!"

"Well, at least that means I don't have to fight, like, two of you at a time," Leo said. Hana chuckled. "What?! I could if I had to, I just don't want to! Listen, I need to get back to work! Can we put this off?!"

Hana glared. "You can't avoid this forever! You already beat the last three exes, you knew what you were getting into!"

"I'll fight you another time! But-"

"Do you know how hard it was to make it to Windmire?! Why do you think it took this long for me to show up after you beat Subaki?!" Hearing that, Leo paused.

"Hm. It was longer than usual, now that I think about it."

"Yeah, cheap ol' Tochika wouldn't lift a finger for my travel costs!" Hana spat.

That name rang a bell to Leo, but he was not sure why. "Who's that?"

Hana rolled her eyes. "Izana Tochika? Owner of Duke's Palace? Hello!"

"H-he… he was my last boyfriend…" Sakura told Leo.

"Oh. The seventh. But wait, what about that Fox? Is he your henchman?"

"A Kitsune? I don't even know any! Ah, whatever. I'm not in the mood anymore." Hana put her mask back on and sheathed her sword. She fished a crystal ball out of her white coat's pocket and pointed with her free hand. "But next time we meet, we _will_ fight!"

**_FLASH!_ **

She was gone. Leo sat crisscross on the grass. He rested his head in his hands. "Ugh, this is giving me a headache…"

Sakura sat down beside Leo and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well… It'll get better. It… it has to. Once you beat her, you'll have beaten most of them!"

"It's not just that," Leo said. "My lease is up soon, and this job and Niles' aren't going to be enough to pay rent." He winced. "Uh, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud."

"Oh my!" Sakura looked Leo in the eyes. "Um… I-I don't mean to sound forward… and, uh, it's okay if you say no! But, uh…" Leo raised his eyebrow. "I-if you can't find a place… I… c-could let you stay… on my couch. Or something!"

"O-oh. Sakura, you really don't ha-"

"Leo, you're putting yourself in constant danger b-because of my exes! At least let me help you in… in some way!" Sakura pleaded. Leo let out a sigh.

"Sakura, that doesn't matter to me though. Because… well…" She raised her eyebrow. "I'm… I'm in lesbians with you, Sakura."

"…What?"

Leo blinked. "Uh, never mind, my tongue slipped." He stood up. "I need to get back to work. Uh, how do we leave?"

Sakura stood up with him and held his hand. She still held her crystal ball and focused its energy.

**_FLASH!_ **

* * *

That afternoon, Leo was able to clock out. When he did, he noticed Sakura again sitting at one of the tables, writing in a notebook. "Sakura? You're still here?"

"Mhmm. I had today off anyway. That's why I was able to come in the first place. Leo, I've been meaning to ask… How do you know Scarlet?"

"Huh? Where's this coming from?"

"When you stormed off from Black Bottom, y-your sisters and Oboro and I, we all talked with Scarlet. Sh-she was talking about how you're suddenly nice to her." As Sakura spoke, there was a bit of purple haze around her head, but Leo was more confused over her words than anything else.

"What? We were just friends in high school."

"You hated each other, though."

"No we didn't! We started a band together! I told you that part!" Leo raised his eyebrow. "Seriously, why are you asking?"

Sakura shook her head. "I just feel like there's something you're not telling me. Maybe it has to do with… with your blank memories, but I don't see how that'd work. Because there's something else that was… off."

"And what was that?"

"You told me how you saved Elise, you saved her from a bully. But… Elise and Camilla had no idea."

"Well I don't know what to tell you, Sakura. I remember some things, other things I don't." Then the purple haze formed into a small flame over Sakura's head.

"Why won't you take me seriously?!"

"Huh?!"

"Y-you won't let me help you, with your home or… or tell me why you're lying about your past! A-and you made fun of me and Hana, and-"

"In my defense, that last one was because I was trying to say something else."

Sakura clenched her fists. "Mmmm! I'm going home!"

As Sakura stormed off, Leo wondered if he should mention the little flame over her head, but decided against it. "What is… she so upset about all of a sudden?"

* * *

That night, Leo walked home- "TURN OFF THE LIGHT!"

"AAAH!"

…

Leo shivered, holding himself as he sat in the armchair. Niles sat up on the mattress, noticeably not wearing a shirt. He winced with his good eye. "So… As you can see, I'm going to need the mattress tonight. And I still haven't found the earplugs."

"Ugh…"

Niles shrugged. "Hey, you can crash on Sakura's couch or something, can't ya?"

"We… I think I messed up. I'm not really sure. She was upset. And I used the wrong L-Word."

"Wow." He clicked his tongue. "Well you can't stay here. Other Leo is not going to want to stay in the bathroom forever."

"I know…" Leo stood up and trudged over to the door. Niles raised his eyebrow.

"Leo? Did… you remember someone you could stay with?"

"No." He opened the door.

"Then where are you going?"

"Anywhere."

* * *

At Black Bottom, Leo sat by himself at one of the tables. It was nearly closing time, when a certain freckled woman joined him. "Well if it isn't Leo!" Scarlet grinned. "What's up?"

Leo blinked. "Did we… Were we ever friends?"

"No, not really."

"I… I remember that we used to be friends. Sometime after I saved Elise from a bully, you and her both wanted me to join your band," Leo said. "That's what led to me and Elise being in the Rockin' Troopas right now."

"Huh. So that's how you remember it?"

"What? How do you remember it, then?"

Scarlet tapped her fingers on the table. "Well… I might've provoked you, but we got into a fight after. And the principal thought he could have us get over our differences if we were forced to spend time together."

Leo shrugged. "Well, we're friends now, so-"

"It didn't work. It turned out I already knew your sister, Elise. She and I started hanging out more, she saw my dad's drums and got more interested in them, one thing led to another and we had a band." She scratched the back of her neck. "I don't really remember how you came into the picture, but I moved after a while. Honestly, I was surprised that you were so… civil, back in the mall."

"Huh… That seems…" He put a hand to his head, wincing. "I have a headache now. But wait, why did you make fun of me? Or how? Or… any detail."

"Honestly, I don't remember. Something stupid, probably. I was a hothead then. Still am, to a degree. You were too."

"Hmm… So, I don't remember any of what you said. But I believe you. Is that strange?"

"I dunno, man. So why're you here? I'm meeting someone once they get off work."

Leo rested his elbows on the table to massage his temples. "I don't know. Sakura and I had a… I don't know what happened, but she was mad at me. In fact… it was about you. She thinks I'm keeping a secret about us. But I just have a weird memory, that's all!"

Scarlet quirked her eyebrow. "You? And me? Pffffft! Hahaha! As if!" She reached across the table and ruffled Leo's hair. "You're actually not so bad, Leo. But I'm not interested."

"H-hey, neither am I!" He blushed. "I was going to use the… the 'L-Word' earlier, but I messed up."

She winced. "Ooh. Not the kinda thing that can be messed up lightly."

"I know. In fact, that made it a little worse." He sighed, smiling. "Sakura… She just… I don't know, she just motivates me with her presence. She's friendly, she tries to see the best in things… She's shy, but isn't a pushover either." Then Leo's smile faded into frown. "But there's also those Evil… Exes. And most times, it was _Sakura_ who dumped _them_ , not the other way around. And not always in the nicest way. She's more complicated than she looks."

"Wow. I don't really know what to say, man." Scarlet racked her brain in search of wisdom. "Everyone… everyone has baggage, Leo. But, uh… if you really care about each other… you'll… stick to it? Uh, not the baggage, the, uh, relationship. Ugh, I'm glad I'm not a public speaker."

Leo stared at Scarlet for a moment. "…You know what, you're right."

"I am?"

"This time I'm going to do it right!" Leo stood up. "And… thanks for helping me out. I'm sorry we apparently didn't get along that well."

"Eh. Better late than never."

With a nod, Leo left. He passed someone on the way out. "Hi Young Dwyer. Bye Young Dwyer."

Left in the doorway, Young Dwyer sighed. "Great… Now who am I going to eat here with?" Suddenly, his eyes met Scarlet's. "Hey. Wanna split something?"

"I'm meeting someone soon."

"For crying out loud…" Young Dwyer walked right back out.

* * *

Leo barged into Stahlbucks. "Corrin, I'm in a hurry but I'm also really thirsty, can I order a-"

"Leo?!" Selkie stood behind the counter.

"Huh? Selkie, what are you doing here?"

She brought attention to her apron and nametag. "I work here now! It's a summer job!"

"Oh…" He awkwardly walked over to the counter. "Uh, can I get… whatever, as long as it's bitter. Uh. You can add sugar if you… really wanted to, though."

"Okay!" She went right to work. "So what's going on, Leo? Things have been… Actually, things suck! River City Ransom broke up last month, and their drummer punched me! Then I heard their guitarist exploded into coins!"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, I did that to him. He was a tool, Selkie."

"Huh…" She turned around. "I sense another Kitsune…"

"Where?!" Leo got defensive, but Selkie smiled.

"Oh, outside. But it's just my dad, I think. He's been looking for some guy."

"Like me?! He's been looking for me, Selkie!"

Selkie gasped. "Oh! Oh nooo… I know what it is, too! Last week, he found out about you dumping me! I guess he's just in Parent Mode or something. You know how crazy parents are!"

He gulped. "Yeah, everyone's gone crazy lately, it seems. I need some kind of disguise…"

The Kitsune barged into the store. " _There you are!_ "

**Name: Kaden  
** **Status: Frenzied Fox Father**

"Gah!" Leo evaded the fox's pounce and ran out the front door, but Kaden would not give up so easily. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

" _I'm gonna get ya!_ "

"Uh, Leo! What about your coffee?" Selkie called.

Outside, Leo gritted his teeth and tried to run faster. "Uhhhh…"

" _I know what you did to Selkie, Leo! How could you?!_ "

"Stop chasing me!" Leo ran across the street, nearly getting hit by a truck. Kaden hopped onto the hood and leapt off to give chase.

" _Are you just gonna run away from all your problems?_ "

"Mmmmm!" Leo felt his head getting hotter. Kaden observed purple lights glowing around Leo's head. "You're giving me a headache!" Leo ran down the sidewalk and went into the park. "Maybe I can lose him in he- Aaah!"

An alternate Leo stood before our own. He was wreathed in several purple flames, and had striking ruby eyes. Leo glared at him. "Not today!"

He punched his doppelganger, making it dissipate, and continued his evasion.

* * *

Leo finally seemed to lose Kaden, and already repressed his memories of seeing that alternate version of himself. He made it to Sakura's house and hurried up the stoop. Out of energy, he opted to ring the doorbell instead of knock.

"I'll be right there!" Sakura's voice was audible. Within twenty seconds, she answered the door. "O-oh. H-hi Leo… Why are you out of breath?"

"It's… a long story… Sakura, I had a talk… with Scarlet, but-" Sakura glumly averted her eyes. "Sakura, please! I didn't… mean… to lie! Apparently I just…" he was beginning to catch his breath, so he stood upright, "I just misremembered those times."

Sakura nodded. "I… I figured it might've just been your memory. I'm s-sorry I snapped like that. I usually don't do that, but… I don't know. My head was hurting..."

"Sakura, is that guy here?!" Hana's voice called from inside. Leo winced.

"Uhhhh?!"

"Leo, it's not like that! She just… appeared on my back porch earlier, a-and-"

" _Fooooound you!_ " Kaden taunted. Leo gulped, as Sakura got a look at the Kitsune.

"Who is that?"

"Selkie's dad going on a rampage! Inside!" Leo shoved Sakura into the house and followed after. He closed the door and locked it, then the two backed away from the door. "Phew…" He cleared his throat. "So, anyway-"

Kaden broke through the door, making Sakura and Leo both scream. However, Leo smacked himself in the face to regain his composure. " _Got ya now, Leo!_ "

Leo whispered to Sakura. "Hey. So that samurai's upstairs?"

"Uhh, why?"

"I had an idea."

Kaden crouched down.

"Yes!"

"Good. Ahem… Come and get me, Fox!" Leo aimed for the stairs and began to ascend, as the frenzied Kaden gave chase. Leo hurried and found an unmasked Hana on the back porch, sitting at the table, directly across from the doorway. "You…"

"You."

" _And me!_ " Kaden tried to pounce Leo from behind. But the boy smirked and dropped to the porch planks. This made Kaden about to pounce on Hana instead of Leo. The samurai glared and held out her sword's sheath to try and block Kaden's front paws. " _Whoopsy!_ "

Kaden's weight proved too much, and he shoved himself and Hana through the railing and into the yard below. "Gaaah! Lousy Leo! Just fight me already, coward!"

Up on the balcony, Leo and Sakura watched the two others. Leo sighed. "Yeah, I've been kind of a coward lately, huh? Or maybe a lot longer. I don't know."

"Leo?"

He looked over to her. "Sakura, I know that you have a lot of baggage. But I care about you too much! Just like you care about me!" Finally, he put his hands on her shoulders. "You know what I like about you? It's not just that you're nice, but you also see the bright side of everything! You're firm in your beliefs! You make me feel like I'm not just a bitter old soul!"

"I-I do?!"

The man let go of her. "I want this to work because… I'm in love with you."

Suddenly, a fiery sword emerged from Leo's chest and into his hand.

**LEO EARNED THE POWER OF LOVE!  
****Guts +8  
** **Heart +10  
** **Smarts +3  
** **Will +12**

"Aha!" Leo dropped down into the yard, where Kaden and Hana waited. "All right. Who's first?"

Kaden scrambled over to the fence, leaving Hana alone with Leo. The samurai shrugged. "Tch. No problem! I've been waiting for this!" She drew her sword and threw the sheath aside.

**_BOSS: HANA_ **

"I'm ready when you are," Leo said.

"About time!" Hana ran at him with her sword. Leo smirked and did the same.

The fighters both leapt into the air, swords raised. Leo swung first, wounding Hana before they both hit the ground again. Hana landed on her knee, and collapsed onto her abdomen, while Leo landed on his feet. He turned his head back. "Having fun back there?"

"Aaah… You're not a coward and a jerk anymore… Now you're just a jerk. But you'll never... beat the twins!"

"Twins?"

Hana exploded into a spray of coins, forcing Leo to shield his face from the makeshift shrapnel.

**_KO!_ **

**_+4000 pts!_ **

Sakura exited her back door and went to stand by Leo. "I-I missed it…"

"Yeah, and it was awesome!" Kaden unexpectedly said. Leo and Sakura both turned to find Kaden in his human form, clad in a blue trench coat and matching pants, crouched on Sakura's fence. "I knew you had it in you, Leo! You just needed a little push!"

"What?" Leo shook his head. "You…were trying to help me?"

"Yeah! I mean, it didn't go exactly as I wanted, but hey! And now you have one less of Sakura's exes to worry about! Welp, time to go!" Kaden hopped down, sprinted across the yard, then hopped the opposite fence.

"…That was… strange," Sakura said. Leo walked over to Hana's discarded sheath and placed the Power of Love inside. "Oh, and she left you a case for your weapon!"

"Yeah." He turned around. "So… twins…"

Sakura blushed. "Y-yeah… You're probably going to have to fight them together."

"Of course…"

"Oh, and… something else."

"Hm?"

Sakura nervously brushed some hair behind her ear before quickly kissing Leo.

"I… I love you too."

**Achievement Unlocked: Huey Lewis Approved**

* * *

Leo and Sakura held hands as they supervised Hinata and Elise carrying Leo's boxes across Sakura's front yard.

"You don't really have a lot of stuff, Leo," Elise told him.

"So why are you complaining?"

"Leo, be nice…"

Leo smirked. "Yes _dear._ "

Hinata and Elise rolled their eyes at the pet name, while Leo and Sakura laughed.

* * *

Niles stood proudly in the center of the old apartment. "You know, it looks a lot different now. …No, wait, no it doesn't. Still, I'm glad things are working out for you and Sakura," Niles said into his phone.

" _Yeah, me too. I really think this might be the start of something… something special._ "

Niles shrugged. "I meant more because Other Leo and I signed up for a new lease and you'd be kinda SOL if you didn't have any other places to go. But hey, whatever works for you." He flashed a dirty grin.

" _…I hate you, Niles._ "

"Call me some time, we can do lunch."

Leo sighed. " _Yeah, sure…_ "

* * *

**Black Bottom – Scarlet's Farewell Party**

Scarlet, Leo, Sakura, Elise, Camilla, Shura, Hinata, Oboro, Young Dwyer, Selkie, Niles and Corrin all sat together at a large table. Elise held up a glass. "To Scarlet! Good luck with your new family business!"

"To Scarlet," everyone else said, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

"I don't even know this person," Shura said under his breath. Hinata put a hand on his shoulder.

"So? Free food!"

Niles looked at Corrin sitting right next to him. "Corrin, you've kept to yourself the last few weeks. What's up?"

Corrin shrugged. "Eh. Nothing really happened, I've just been busier lately. Selkie works at my place now, did you know?"

"Hi Niles!"

"Where's Other Leo?" Corrin asked Leo's former roommate.

"Eh, he has work."

Young Dwyer gave a small smile and spoke to no one in particular. "I'm just glad I was included for once."

"So Scarlet, what does your family do?" Sakura asked.

She shrugged. "Ah. It's just a lot of business stuff. I wouldn't want to bore ya."

"You know, I'm glad we were able to bury the hatchet," Leo told her. "Let us know if you come back."

"Will do!"

* * *

Later on, Leo and Sakura walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand. Leo smiled. "You know, I think you're rubbing off on me. Because I feel optimistic for once."

"Does it hurt?"

Leo looked over at Sakura, and she broke into giggles. "Wow. A joke from you. That's a new one."

"I guess you're rubbing off on me too!"

He smiled. "I guess that makes us official."

"Hmhm! I suppose it does."

**[CHAPTER 4 CLEAR! WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE?]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So starting with this chapter, and for the rest of the story, we follow more in the comic's direction than the movie's. But that's not to say there aren't still nods or elements to the movie version.
> 
> In this chapter, we take another look at Leo's faulty memories. It was shown last time that Elise and Camilla remember things differently. Apparently so does Scarlet. Just what happened to Leo's memories? This goes into changing the Scott-Kim-Lisa dynamic with Leo, Elise and Scarlet.
> 
> Today's characters are Hana and Kaden. Hana's very protective of Sakura, so she seemed like a fitting replacement for Roxy in this adaptation. And since Mr. Chau is Knives' father, of course Kaden would play the role of Selkie's father. Who else could? The landlord is a non-Fire Emblem character, a cameo from Pokemon Sun & Moon. If you've played enough of the game, you'll recognize him. Also, that's right- Izana is Gideon. Izana will be our final boss in a few chapters. Movie!Gideon just had such a fun personality that Izana seemed to work for this. There are also reasons later on. And Nega Leo. He's based more on the comic iteration of Nega Scott, so unfortunately, I couldn't fit in the joke from the movie about Nega Scott.
> 
> Throughout Volume 4, Scott and the gang frequent a restaurant called Sneaky Dee's. I needed to think of a restaurant, and one of my friends talked about a new restaurant called Black Bottom, so I just used that. I know nothing about that place. Watch it end up being a strip-bar or something and then this chapter becomes awkward. Speaking of awkward, Niles' anecdote by the water cooler is actually based off a thing me and one of my friends did once. I was the Leo in that situation, just sitting awkwardly the whole time. Though my friend wasn't actually any more into it than I was. The university layout is more or less me describing the university I attended.
> 
> I think this might actually be my favorite chapter so far.


	5. Leo vs. The Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo's 22nd year of life looks to be a troubling one, as the Shingaki Twins come to town, using all sorts of indirect methods to destroy him. When secrets of Leo's and Sakura's pasts come to light, how will they deal with it?

**Update:  
** **Leo – Status: In love  
** **Sakura – Status: In love**

**Niles – Status: Threw an awesome party for Other Leo (and you missed it)  
** **Elise – Status: Unemployed  
** **Hinata – Status: Still recording with Shura  
** **Young Dwyer – Status: Background friend  
** **Selkie – Status: Technically an adult  
** **Corrin – Status: Almost getting a promotion  
** **Oboro – Status: Party animal  
Camilla - Status: That face when you lay your sister off work  
Shura - Status: Doesn't actually know how to record  
** **Velouria - Status: Who cares?  
Luna - Status: Out of sight, out of mind**   
**Scarlet - Status: Business tycoon**

**Odin Dark – Status: Pocket change  
Benny Lee - Status: Making it rain (coins)  
Subaki - Status: The cleaning lady's tip  
Hana - Status: Spent on Sakura's porch repairs  
** **Evil Exes #5-7 – Status: Unknown**

**Month: June (30th)**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Camilla walked into the main room, holding a cake. It was chocolate, which was not Leo's favorite, but the only kind Camilla could be bothered to learn to make. Leo and most of his friends sat squished together on the same couch.

Sakura leaned in on Leo's shoulder, smiling. "I'm happy for you, Leo."

"Thanks. We're still going to celebrate yours, you know, don't think I forgot about that."

Elise giggled. "So how old are you _now_ , Leo? 30?"

"…22."

Hinata looked around. "Isn't Young Dwyer supposed to have shown up? He was gonna bring pizza."

Shura blinked. "Oh… I thought the delivery place had the wrong address… Uh boy."

"Great. A party with no pizza. Real nice," Oboro huffed. "Just wait until my next party! There'll be pizza everywhere!"

* * *

**Month: July – Oboro's House**

Leo and Sakura stood in the center of the living room, noticing pizza boxes all over the place. Leo nodded. "Oboro was not kidding."

"Heehee! I just realized, we haven't been in this house together since we first met in person."

With one comment, Leo's cheeks went crimson. "Yeah… You could've not brought that up…"

"Heeheehee!"

Then with one laugh, Leo's embarrassment faded. Sakura's laughs had that effect on him. Her gasps, on the other hand…

"What?"

"I… I think I recognize those men in the corner…" Sakura nearly whispered. "Try not to look directly at them."

Leo casually scoped the party and saw two similar men talking to each other in the corner with pizza. One had green hair, one had red, and their clothes matched. Green wore a button-up shirt and jeans, while Red wore a tank top, camo pants and sunglasses.

 **Name: Suzukaze 'Kaze' Shingaki  
** **Status: Planning too much**

 **Name: Saizo Shingaki  
** **Status: Not planning enough**

"Why are they here?" Leo asked. Sakura gave him a look, and he winced. "Okay, bad question. But still, they couldn't mean to attack me in the middle of this party, right? They seem to be enjoying it. I think. That red one looks mad."

Sakura nodded. "Saizo ran hot and Kaze ran cold."

"I've never really been interested, but what is it like to be in a three-person relationship?"

"Uhhh!" Saizo and Kaze whipped their heads over, and Sakura squeaked. The brothers walked over promptly, with Kaze speaking first. "Sakura, funny we run into you here. All by yourself?"

"Unless that's the _infamous_ Leon," Saizo spat.

"Leo," the man in question corrected. He sighed. "So what, you guys want to fight right now?"

"Nohrians sure like to fight, it looks like," said Saizo.

"Easy, Brother. Ahem. Leo, was it? We're not barbarians, we're just here to have fun." He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. "Our friend, on the other hand…"

**_Vvvvvvt!_ **

Leo and Sakura turned around and saw a little wooden man with buzz saws on his hand.

**AUTOMATON HAS JOINED THE PARTY!**

The robot immediately ran for Leo. He winced and ran into another room. "Gah! Why'd I leave the sword at home?!"

Kaze looked over to Sakura. "So you seem to be doing well. Does Leo give you everything you want in a person?"

"Y-yes!"

"Unlike either of us," said Saizo.

"I'm leaving." Sakura stormed off. Saizo shook his head.

"That's what she does best."

* * *

Elsewhere in the party, Selkie sat next to a drinking Hinata on the couch as they watched Leo throwing decorations at the automaton and breaking it. The Kitsune girl looked to her friend. "Hinata, why aren't you talking to Oboro?"

He winced. "Oooh… Well, we kinda broke up."

"Huh? You _kinda_ broke up?"

"Well, maybe it was less ambiguous than yours and Leo's situation with Sakura, but-"

Selkie raised her eyebrow. "Uh, I don't get it."

The man let out a sigh. "Okay, I thought you figured it out yourself, but… you know Leo cheated on you, right?"

"…Nooo…"

"Well, yeah… He was so busted up over what Luna did to him, and you worshipped the ground he walked on, so he just figured dating you would be easy! He wouldn't have to try or risk anything!" Hinata shrugged. "Then Sakura came along, and… well it took him a few weeks to actually break up with you."

"O-oh…"

"Yeah, Leo's my bud, but… well, you had a right to know. I thought you already did, really."

At first, Selkie said nothing and allowed Hinata to finish his drink. Until her final question. "Does Sakura know?"

Selkie's answer was the fact that Hinata refused to make eye contact.

* * *

"That robot was less frightening than I thought," Leo said, between bites of cereal. He and Sakura sat together at her kitchen table, Sakura dressed for work. "Too bad those guys left the party before I could find them again, I bet it would've saved a lot of time."

"Well, you'll probably have another chance." Sakura stood up. "I need to get going. Don't you have work today?"

"It's Sunday."

"Oh. Right. Well, we're out of milk. Could you please pick some up today?"

"I should be able to."

"Thank you." She came closer and pecked Leo on the forehead. "I'll see you later."

Sakura left, and Leo finished his breakfast not long after. He went to the dresser in the living room to pull out some bus tokens (a birthday gift from Elise). But something caught his eye. For the first time, Leo noticed an envelope with a name written in Sakura's handwriting.

_IZANA_

Leo furrowed his brow, but ultimately grabbed two tokens and shut the drawer.

* * *

In Shura's room, he and Hinata sat together by the former's computer, while Leo and Elise were stuck on the bed. "Guuuuuys! When can we hear the album?!"

Shura winced. "Uh, in a minute!"

"You've said that for hours!" Elise complained.

"Okay, I need more minutes, then!"

Leo glared. "It's been months. Why haven't you guys finished?"

"Uh, band meeting!"

Hinata stood up and went over into Elise's room. The siblings sighed and got up to join him. He nervously rested his hands on his temples. "So… We have a show!"

Elise gasped, and Leo turned his head. "We do? For once?"

"Yeah, Oboro talked to some of her friends who were doing a show. They agreed, but only if it were competitive. So, another Battle of the Bands. This one's called 'Amp vs Amp' or something."

"Who are we playing?" asked Elise.

"The Super Shingaki Bros. Some kinda DJs."

Leo stroked his chin. "Shingaki Brothers… That name rings a bell… Wait, I think those were the guys at Oboro's party! They sent that robot after me!"

"Didn't you and Oboro break up? Again? Why would she do that for you?"

Hinata shrugged. "I dunno! But come on, we gotta practice or else we'll be totally screwed!"

Elise had automatically appeared behind her drums. "Then what are we waiting for?! ROCKIN' TROOPAS LET'S GO, ONE, TWO, THREE FOUR!" Elise began drumming, even though Hinata and Leo were without instruments.

* * *

On a bench in the mall, Selkie rambled into a phone about how Leo cheated on her all that time ago. It was mostly just a lot of fast talking and some sounds of moaning. She was talking to her good friend, Velouria.

" _Uh, Selkie? I can't really understand you._ "

Over in the clothing store, Leo sat on a bench of his own while Sakura tried a different outfit in the changing room. "So are you going to go to our performance? It's at the old warehouse in Dia, one town over."

"Uh, maybe. I'll have to check my schedule," she said behind the door. "I'm not sure…"

Leo nodded. "Hmm. We're still trying to figure out what song we should open with. Elise keeps pushing for 'Threshold', but Hinata's really set on 'Pencilhead'. I'm kinda neutral on both songs, what would an outside perspective think?"

"Uh… which one is which again? I…" A sigh. "I'm sorry, Leo, but… your songs all kind of sound… the same…"

"Wh-what?"

"I… I've just never really been into that kind of music before. Th-that's not to say anything about your band, but… well…"

"Oh. Oh yeah, that's fine, it's not for everyone," Leo waved it off.

"Phew. I'm glad you're not upset about that."

"Naaah. I don't even like our music that much," Leo said.

"Huh? Why are you in the band, then?"

"Well… uh… Hm."

* * *

**Dia – O'Malley Warehouse**

Young Dwyer helped the Troopas unpack their equipment from the car. "I can't believe you let me come with you for once."

"Come on, Young Dwyer, we haven't treated you that badly, have we?" Elise asked.

"I didn't even know you were performing until you called me to help with the equipment."

"Oh…"

Hinata looked around nervously. "So… who's on first?"

Leo looked at a flyer he held. "Apparently… both of us?"

"What?!" Elise asked. "How does that work?"

**Like this:**

The Rockin' Troopas (and Young Dwyer) stood onstage at the north end of the warehouse interior, with all their equipment. On the opposite side, the entire wall was covered in amps.

Elise gulped. "Oh…"

* * *

In the restroom, Sakura finished washing her hands, when she turned to find Selkie waiting for her. "Oh! S-Selkie?"

Selkie nodded. "That's me! Sakura, we need to talk."

"If… if this is about what happened in the library-"

"No, it isn't!" She blushed. "But, uh, I am sorry about that. But this is more important! Here goes…"

Sakura waited.

"…Leo… he cheated on me! On both of us!"

"…What?"

"He was dating me when you two met," Selkie explained. "But he didn't break up with me until after he'd already been seeing you for a few weeks! Hinata told me the whole story! Everyone just went along with it, but neither of us knew about it!"

"I… But… I think I need to go…" Sakura said, hurrying out of the restroom. Selkie caught the stressed look on Sakura's face and frowned.

* * *

Young Dwyer stood on stage left, holding his closed 3DS. "So are the other guys coming out soo-"

The Shingakis' amps lit up, and their keyboards slowly slid from opposite sides of their stage to join in the middle. The two brothers crept up, Kaze on stage left, Saizo on stage right. They stared soullessly at the Troopas.

Kaze spoke first. "Hello, Troopas."

"And goodbye." Saizo held down one of his keys, shortly followed by Kaze. As they held their notes, the Troopas and Young Dwyer waited.

"Oh gods… Can we do this?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah!" Elise nodded. "We've got this! Right, Leo?"

"Where's Sakura? I can't find her in the crowd…"

"Leo!"

"Aah! Yeah, let's take them apart!"

The Shingakis held down new keys, creating a sound wave that flew over the crowd and hit the Troopas' overhead lights. Young Dwyer flinched, narrowly avoiding a falling batten. "Dudes."

Elise narrowed her eyes. "Okay, no more holding back! ROCKIN' TROOPAS! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" Leo began to play bass, while Elise spoke to the crowd. "This is the beginning of our song!"

The Troopas started playing, as Hinata began to sing.

 **_"I'm hearin' voices, animal noises! The crème de la crème, the feminine abyss!"  
_ ** **_"And I'm reachin' my threshold, starin' at the truth 'til I'm blind!"_ **

All the Troopas were getting into it, unafraid of the Shingaki brothers, themselves staring in contempt. Young Dwyer bobbed his head to the music. Only one crowd member, Sakura, felt upset.

 **_"My body's stupid, stereo putrid, spilling out music, into raw sewage!"  
_ ** **_"Reachin' my threshold, starin' at the truth 'til I'm blind!"_ **

Saizo and Kaze nodded to each other, and turned their dials up to Setting 11. A giant, electrical projection of a four-legged dragon with antlers and wings emerged from their amps. Leo joined in with Hinata's lyrics.

" ** _My threshold! (Threshold!) Reaching, my thresho-_** "

The dragon opened its mouth and sprayed torrential breath of some sort onto the Troopas and Young Dwyer, knocking them all down. The crowd in the center cheered at this marvel. Saizo scowled. "They went down like weaklings."

"We'll have to thank that Oboro for setting this up."

Across the warehouse, the Troopas picked themselves back up. Hinata's ponytail came undone and he moaned. "Maaan! Can we just break up now and get it over with? We screwed the pooch on this one!"

"Not happening!" Leo told him. "I'm not running from these exes anymore! We're doing this."

"Woo! I feel motivated already!" Elise said, getting back into her seat. Young Dwyer merely nodded, while Hinata took a deep breath.

"You're right."

Elise tapped the drumsticks together.

" ** _Reaching my threshold! (Threshold!) My threshold! Reaching, (Threshold!) my threshold! (My threshold!)_** "

The crowd roared, and the twins prepared another dragon. When the instrumental portion began, Leo stomped his amp's footswitch, conjuring an electrical projection of a stony torso with a medallion for a face. " _ROOOOOOOAR!_ "

**_BOSS: SUPER SHINGAKI BROS._ **

Saizo and Kaze tried powering their dragon with more notes, but the Troopas' beast punched the dragon right in the face. The dragon got in a few hits with its front legs, but the golem began to block with its arms before hammering with both fists.

Young Dwyer giggled. Sakura frowned. Saizo and Kaze scowled.

The dragon turned around to whip its tail, but the golem grabbed it, and started spinning around. After a few turns, it hurled the dragon back at Saizo and Kaze.

"Saizo-"

"I know."

The dragon crashed into the brothers and their keyboards, as well as the amps behind them. The dragon dissipated and several amps from the wall's central column collapsed. Its job finished, the Troopas' projection faded away.

**_KO!_ **

**_+5000 pts!_ **

As the crowd cheered for the Troopas, Leo finally saw Sakura's telltale pink hair. He immediately unplugged his bass and handed it to Young Dwyer so he could pursue. "Uh, where're you going?"

"She looks upset about something."

"Who?"

Leo squeezed through various crowd members until he finally caught up to Sakura. "Hey! Sakura! Are you all right?"

"Huh? O-oh… That was… a nice show, Leo…"

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"I… I just have a lot on my mind right now," she answered.

"Did… Did I do something?" Sakura winced, but Leo misinterpreted. "Did you really not want to come here? Hey, if we ever get another show, you won't have to-"

"I just want to be alone right now, Leo." Sakura began to walk away, head glowing again. "Um… that means at home, too…"

"Uh… wait, so I'm being kicked out?"

She turned around. "N-no… It's just… for tonight, I'd really rather be alone… I'll see you around, Leo…"

In that moment, the Rockin' Troopas' victory and the defeat of the Shingaki Bros. felt rather insignificant.

* * *

**Niles & (Other) Leo's Apartment – Two Days Later**

"Sorry again it didn't work out with you and Sakura," Niles said, flipping a pancake. "But I'll admit, I missed you. Lucky for you there's a vacancy here while Other Leo's visiting his cousin."

Leo stood at the counter-table, rolling his eyes. "It's not like that. She just wanted some alone time."

"Mm-hmm. Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself." Niles walked over to Leo and set his plate and Leo's down. "So I couldn't find anything on those twins."

"Eh, don't worry about it. We beat them at the Amp vs. Amp event right before Sakura… said what she said."

"But I did figure out one juicy detail!" Niles announced. He slipped Leo a blurry photograph of a man. It looked like he had white hair in a ponytail and white clothes- a jacket and jeans. Disappointed, Leo focused on his breakfast. "Izana Tochika, reclusive owner of the Duke's Palace club in Shirasagi, Hoshido."

"Reclusive, huh?"

"Yep. The guy's a party animal, but he doesn't like photos." Niles tilted his head. "So if he's the last ex, what happens after you beat him?"

"Hm?"

"Well, like, are you and Sakura gonna do _the do?_ "

"Aaah! Niles! I… huh… Uh, that's not important right now!"

* * *

That afternoon, Leo and Elise walked along the sidewalk, toward Hinata and Young Dwyer's house. "So did you ever find a new job, Elise?"

"No… I don't know what I'm gonna do, Leo."

"Ouch… I sort of lucked into my job." Leo knocked on the door and Young Dwyer answered.

"…What."

"Hi, Young Dwyer! Are you and Hinata ready for some pizza?"

He blinked. "…Hinata already left for Pizza Fang. He went with Shura."

Elise put her hands on her hips. "Man, why is he spending so much time with Shura lately?!"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Young Dwyer asked. "Whatever."

Leo checked his phone. "Still no reply… I'm starting to think Sakura's avoiding me…" He looked over. "Elise, could you maybe help me out?"

* * *

**McDonnel's**

Leo stood behind a stone column as Elise sat at a table. "This is really the best place you could think to invite her?!"

"Shut up, Leo, you're lucky she even agreed to meet me! Oh! There she is!" Elise waved Sakura down, inviting her to the table. "Hi Sakura! Did you enjoy the show the other night?"

"Hm? Oh, it… For what it was… I th-think it was good…"

"Yeah, we sure showed those twins who's boss, didn't we?"

Sakura sat down. "I… I suppose you did."

Leo walked out from behind the pillar and sat beside Elise. "Elise, they don't have the napkins you like- Oh! Sakura! I'm surprised to see you here!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Leo… are you serious?"

He sighed. "Okay, yeah, that was pathetic of me." He turned to his sister. "Thank you for the help, though."

"You'll just owe me later! I think I'm gonna get something while I'm here. I was trying this new diet, but I think I can afford to cheat this once." Sakura flinched at the word 'cheat'. "Sakura, do you want anything? Whoa."

Sakura's head glowed purple, confusing Elise. "Uh… Is your head supposed to glow like that?"

"Okay, so I wasn't just seeing things!" Leo exclaimed.

"Wh-what are you talking about?!"

"The purple lights all around your head!" Elise nearly yelled. "Is that normal?!"

Leo shrugged. "It happens to her sometimes, but I just figured it was an astral thing… or something."

Sakura brushed some hair behind her ear. "I… I don't know! And I'm not the only one! I th-think I remember something like that happening to Leo once or twice… Usually when he thinks about high school or Luna…"

"Wait, it did?" Leo questioned. Elise tried to think of such an occasion, but fell short. He sighed. "Well it doesn't matter now. The DJ-Twin-Jerks are behind us, that samurai is behind us, River City Ransom is behind us, it's just Izana now." He remembered the letter. "It is over between the two of you, right?"

"Wh-what?"

"Gah, nothing…" He sighed and put his head on the table. "So I have a question. I know you said 'Evil Exes' before, but why have you only dated jerks? Not one friendly person in the whole pack? I mean… Benny was _okay_ …"

The serial dumper groaned. "Leo… Why do you think I try so hard to be positive? If I focused on every bad thing I've ever done, it'd destroy me!"

Elise awkwardly looked around before excusing herself from the table. "I'm gonna… go take a call…"

Sakura continued. "I've… I've done a lot of things I'm not really proud of, Leo. You heard Owain, Benny, Hana…"

_Didn't work out? You feared me and left without another word!_

_My family was actually staying in Hoshido for a little longer, and she knew it. I tried to find Sakura again. I saw her, cuddling up to that 'perfect' jerk!_

_I was just a phase to you!_

"That's part of why I came to Windmire. To start over! And… and I thought someone like you would be different from the people I used to know… but you're just another Evil Ex waiting to happen!"

Leo picked his head back up. "What?! How am I hurting this?!"

She took a deep breath. "Leo… did you cheat on me with Selkie?"

Leo tensed up. Suddenly he felt a fierce headache. "Aaaah! N-no. I… I cheated on Selkie with you… That's… No that's really not any better."

"No it's not!" She began to shudder. "You're… you're no better than them… Than me… I… I thought you… You s-seemed so nice! Y-you were a little awkward, but honest. You gave an effort… You made me feel like I could start over…" She stood up, and the glow around her was more potent. "I'm… I need to go. Tell Elise I'm sorry…"

"Sakura, I-" Sakura quickened her pace and ran out of the restaurant. Leo hung his head in defeat. "…I screwed up."

* * *

Just like that, Leo sat alone at the table for the next hour. He considered all his mistakes, and his headache worsened. His own head began to glow purple, just as Sakura had described. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. **_Vvvvvvvvv!_** Leo said nothing, as he checked his phone. It was a text from Elise.

"What? Isn't she at the count… Ohhh… Oh no."

**Elise: Greetings, Leo. This is Suzukaze Shingaki. I am borrowing your sister's phone. I am also borrowing your sister. Come to the Krakenburg Catacombs within two hours. I trust you will arrive in a timely manner. Until then.**

"Oh you did _not!_ "

 **Elise: Greetings, Leo. This is Suzukaze Shingaki. I am borrowing your sister's phone. I am also borrowing your sister. Come to the Krakenburg Catacombs within two hours. I trust you will arrive in a timely manner. Until then.  
** **Leo: I'm on my way, don't you touch her!**

Leo stood up and ran out the door.

* * *

Not far from the underground mall, there were catacombs beneath Castle Krakenburg. This dungeon used to serve as a secret passageway in and out of the castle. Ever since Krakenburg was largely closed off, the catacombs have become a tourist attraction. Though some tunnels still served darker purposes...

**_BOSS: SUZUKAZE SHINGAKI_ **

Leo slammed into a wall. A very disheveled Kaze dusted his hands. "So this is how the mighty Leo falls."

"Rrrgh… How'd you even get out from under those amps?!" Leo complained.

Elise sat in a nearby cage. "Yeah! We beat you fair and square!"

Kaze looked over to her. "I teleported out of the way, thanks to my ninja training." He then balled his fist tightly. "My brother… was a bit too slow."

"This isn't even about me, can I just leave now?" Elise asked.

"You helped Leo defeat us, now you're helping me defeat Leo!"

Leo stood back up and wiped his mouth. "So you took my sister hostage? Figures. You hide behind your robot, then your music, now you have to distract me with a hostage. Do you win all your fights by cheating?"

Kaze folded his arms. "Hmph. Cheating is what got me and Saizo into this league. I overheard you at Oboro's party. You thought my brother and I had an open relationship with Sakura? You couldn't be more wrong." His eyes narrowed. "Sakura cheated on us!"

Elise gasped, while Leo simply stared. "…What?"

"That's right. She was impulsive, kept trying different things. After she split off from that samurai girl, she decided she wanted to pursue my brother." Kaze cleared his throat. "Don't tell him I said this, but he kind of has a thing for pink hair."

"Uh…"

"But apparently that wasn't enough for her," Kaze stated. "No, when she wanted to try different things… she thought she'd try to date both of us at the same time! Saizo's a bit simple minded, so she went to me for my intellect. And she'd just go back and forth as she liked, until we found out, and she dumped us both!"

Leo blinked. "But… What?! Then… She was so upset when she found out about me and Selkie!"

"So she's a hypocrite. Or maybe she was yelling at the version of herself she saw in you. I don't really care anymore," Kaze pulled some ninja stars from his pocket. "It's time to end this and restore Saizo's honor. HYA!"

Kaze hurled his stars at Leo. The bassist gritted his teeth and jumped out of the way, but one of the stars grazed his shin. "Gah!"

"No big deal, I have plenty more."

"Ugh… You're messing with my head, aren't you? Some kind of ninja trickery, I don't know!" Leo glared at the green-haired man. "Once I beat you, and I beat Izana, then everything will go back to how it was with Sakura!"

"I'm being completely honest, Leo. Did you really think Sakura was some pure angel woman?"

_I don't like seeing these fights. It just reminds me of all my mistakes._

_Why do you think I try so hard to be positive? If I focused on every bad thing I've ever done, it'd destroy me!_

_I've done a lot of things I'm not really proud of, Leo._

_You're… you're no better than them… Than me…_

_You made me feel like I could start over…_

Leo's reflexes saved him from more ninja stars. His hands glowed and he summoned brambles from the ground to attack Kaze, but the Evil Ex did a backflip, avoiding them. "Start over…" Leo whispered.

"That's right, she came here to Nohr to hide from herself. Or Izana. Either way, you're done." Kaze threw a star and hit Leo in the shoulder, bringing him to his knees.

"Aaaah!"

"Leo, are you really taking this abuse for Sakura's sake? Not just me, but all of us in the League?" He squinted. "Because I doubt she'd do the same for you." Kaze dashed over to attack.

"You can do it, Leo!" Her brother did not respond, getting beaten by Kaze. "Leo, come on, take him out!" Still nothing. "What's wrong with you?! Fight him!"

Kaze wailed on Leo too hard, speaking to Elise as he did so. "Don't bother. Leo's just discovered how pointless this whole thing was. The least I can do for him now is end it quickly."

"…Aha!" Elise pulled out her phone. "Stupid ninja," she said to herself, "giving me my phone back. Though I guess he really did only kidnap me to get to Leo… C'mon, Sakura, pick up! Leo needs you!" She grimaced at the sight of her phone's bars. "No…. We're underground, it won't work! Man… Wait!"

She turned around. "HEY LEO! Sakura texted me!"

While Elise had messed with her phone, she missed Kaze kicking a grounded Leo in the gut. "Ow… What?!"

The younger sibling gulped. "Uh, yeah!" She stared at her phone with no reception. "She… she said she's sorry, and wants to know if you're okay! I'm gonna tell her you're about to whoop this guy back to Hoshido!"

Kaze gasped. "What? She's… sorry?!" Leo smirked and slammed his fist on the ground. More brambles emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves around the ninja man. "What?!"

"I've had enough of you…" Leo regained his strength and stood back up. "If you respawn, I want you to tell Izana something for me." Knuckles cracked. "He's next. HYAAAAA!"

In one mighty swing, Leo decked Kaze right in the face, detonating him and sending coins everywhere.

**_KO!_ **

**_+6000 pts!_ **

Leo ran over to Elise's cage and punched it too, making it fade away. "Elise!"

"Leo!" She wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Leo! This time you really _did_ save me!"

He looked down awkwardly at his sister. "I… I guess so." He sighed. "You're safe, right?"

"Yeah. Heh, he knocked me out at the restaurant. When I woke up, I was in the cage and he gave me my phone back." She smirked. "He was just using me to get to you."

"Mmm."

"Leo," Elise began, "you should go to her. I think you and Sakura have a lot to talk about."

"All right… But we're taking you back to Camilla's first."

"That'd be nice. Thanks, Leo. And I'll root for you!"

* * *

Bringing Elise home and catching Camilla up on events took more time than Leo expected, especially when Camilla thanked him so profusely for rescuing their sister. But that night, Leo booked it to Sakura's and his place. As far as he knew, this would be his last chance to make it right.

Leo barged in, noticing that Sakura was not in the living room. The kitchen lights were off, too. Leo hurried upstairs and found Sakura sitting on her bed. She was actually unsurprised to see him.

"Oh… Hi Leo."

"Sakura…" She appeared to be fading out of existence, with some purple lights around her. Sakura looked like she had been crying. "Sakura… Kaze came back. But I took care of him! And… he told me some things… about you. But I don't care about that! I still love you! So you made some mistakes, but that's why you're here, isn't it? To start over?!"

She blinked out of existence for a little longer. Leo came closer. "Sakura, you try to be positive even after all the mistakes you've made! I _wish_ that I could do that!" He got down on one knee. "So I can throw a few punches, big deal! I'd say you're the strong one in this relationship! I don't care about your past, I just care that… that we love each other."

She sniffled. "Th-thank you, Leo."

"No problem, Sakura. I-"

"I had fun. You… your friends… your entire, precious little life…" She smiled sadly. "You really were the nicest person I've dated."

Then... Sakura vanished.

"Sakura?!"

Nothing.

"Sakura!"

* * *

Leo waited in that bedroom for ten minutes.

He eventually noticed the crumpled envelope where she had been. It was the letter to Izana. Ignoring it, Leo got around to exploring the other rooms of the house. She was nowhere to be found in any of them.

Leo was alone.

…

At the university kitchen, Leo was still out of it. "I can't do anything right… I'm going to die alone."

One of the other cooks looked at him. "Dude. It's just a burrito. You can try again."

Leo blankly looked down at the botched burrito in his hands. "Oh."

…

Hinata joined Leo at the lunch table. "I'm gonna guess she's still gone, huh?"

"…"

"Hey… Oboro says she's sorry about the Amp vs Amp thing. She was mad, but she didn't think the Shingakis would try to kill us. She's gonna get us an actual show to make up for it. Wanna practice later?"

"…I don't even like our music…"

"Yeah, but that hasn't stopped you before! C'mon, it'll take your mind off things!"

"My heart wouldn't be in it…"

"Who else can play bass?"

"I don't know. Young Dwyer?"

…

Leo sat alone on the swing in Windmire Dusk Park. Corrin walked up to him and sat in the empty swing beside her brother. She frowned. "Leo... are you doing all right?"

"This was where we had our first date."

"Do... do you think she was the one? Did… you see a future with her?"

"…I think so. Ugh… Why'd I fall in love with a girl with eleven evil exes?"

"I thought it was seven."

"Whatever."

…

Niles came over for a visit, sitting on the couch with Leo and watching a movie. "C'mon, guy. You love _One Thousand Cherries_! You could quote the movie in your sleep!" He winced. "I think you did, once."

"It hits a bit too close to home right now, Niles."

"Hey, maybe you were just too good for her after all. What more could you have said to her?"

"…Is that supposed to be helpful?"

"Ah. You know I'm more of a tough love type. It was worth a shot, though."

* * *

**Windmire Bus Common**

Leo and Corrin stood together as Camilla and Elise prepared to board the bus. "Do look after yourselves," Camilla said.

Corrin nodded. "Come on, Camilla, we're not kids. You have fun in Macarath."

"Mm."

Elise hugged Leo tightly. "Leo… I'm really sorry it didn't work. If you want to move back in too, I'm sure Xander wouldn't mind!"

"Thanks, but… I still have a job to think about, you know…" Leo tried to smile for Elise and returned the hug. "So you're just taking her back, Camilla?"

"No, Leo. Didn't I tell you? Greg's is relocating to Macarath, so I'm moving there too. That's why we're leaving. One of my friends is letting me stay with her for a while."

"Oh… I… Wow."

Camilla leaned down and kissed Leo's cheek. "For luck. I think we'll both need it."

"Yeah… Good luck, guys," Leo told his sisters. Corrin smiled.

"Hey Elise, did Camilla's roommate ever give you that copy of your album?"

"Yup! One of four existing copies of the Rockin' Troopas' only album!"

* * *

Finally, Leo sat on the bed. He took the crumpled letter and opened it.

_Izana,_

_It's over. I'm not coming back. I'm starting over. Best of luck with Duke's Palace._

_-Sakura_

Leo was not sure what he expected. This seemed to be a running theme in his life, this past week.

He leaned back and tried to fall asleep, to forget everything.

**[CHAPTER 5 CLEAR… SAVE?]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What an uplifting chapter that was.
> 
> So again, we're now more into comic territory than movie territory. But I did add the movie's Amp vs Amp scene, because it's a real great scene, and it's more interesting than "twins have Scott/Leo fight Robot #2". But to give the scene some more weight, I did make it the final defeat of at least one twin. In the comic, both twins kidnap Kim and face Scott. You know, I didn't originally like the movie's version of the twin fight, but it definitely grew on me, becoming one of my favorite scenes. We also get into one of the advantages the comic has over the movie- Ramona.
> 
> In the comic, they really explore the fact that Ramona wasn't a real good person, using her exes and breaking up with them as if it were nothing. But after Gideon, she wanted to start over in Toronto, and that's where she met Scott. Scott himself is an all right guy, but a bit of a jerk and self-centered. Childish. Over the course of the story, Scott and Ramona's feelings for each other deepen and they're both willing to become better for each other (and more importantly, for their own good). The movie glosses over a lot of it, and it was even going to end with Scott and Knives together rather than Scott and Ramona. But I'm told that the strongest ships are there because their component characters tell a story. And I think two people trying to move on from their mistakes and grow up is a pretty nice story.
> 
> I love that this story's pacing of "next chapter = next month" got me to have the fifth chapter start on Leo's birthday, just like the fifth volume starts on Scott's birthday. Did not intend for that, but I'll take it. Otherwise, the only new characters today are the twins. Kaze and Saizo. There was no other way, it had to be them. It was too perfect. Also, the movie Niles and Leo watched is a reference to Rapis Razuri's Senbonzakura AKA "the Leo/Sakura fic that got everyone else to write Leo/Sakura fics".
> 
> Tomorrow will be the last chapter.


	6. Leo's Finest Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Left alone, Leo must pull himself together in time to battle the final Evil Ex. Will he be able to succeed? Can he overcome himself? Find out in the story's conclusion.

**Update:**  
**Leo – Status: Alone**  
**Sakura – Status: Unknown**

 **Niles – Status: Providing moral support during commercial breaks**  
**Elise – Status: Back home**  
**Hinata – Status: Salvaging his band**  
**Young Dwyer – Status: Young**  
**Selkie – Status: If you don't know by now...**  
**Corrin – Status: Providing moral support when Niles slacks off**  
**Oboro – Status: Trying to find her place in life**  
**Camilla - Status: Relocated**  
**Shura - Status: Finally slapped an album together**  
**Velouria - Status: Look, I'm sure she's a nice gal, but what's her stake in this?**  
**Luna - Status: Making a comeback**  
**Scarlet - Status: Business tycoon**

 **Odin Dark – Status: Pocket change**  
**Benny Lee - Status: Making it rain (coins)**  
**Subaki - Status: The cleaning lady's tip**  
**Hana - Status: Spent on Sakura's porch repairs**  
**Saizo & Kaze - Status: Over 10,000 coins combined**  
**Izana - Status: Final Boss**

**Month: August (Early)**

_Leo lied in the center of a barren field. "Alone… I'm going to die alone…"_

_Purple flames lit all around the young man, and a man's voice giggled. "Heeheehehe! Then just get it over with!"_

_The flames encroached, threatening to consume Leo, until he felt a weird shaking._

"Wake up already!" Niles told him.

Leo found himself on his girlfriend's couch. "Ugh… Niles?"

"Yep."

"How'd you get in?"

"You left the door unlocked. Hey you wanna see a movie with me and Other Leo?"

"What movie?"

Niles shrugged. "Eh, we don't really know."

"I'll pass."

"Aw c'mon, guy. You can't just go to work and go home for the rest of your life."

"I went to the grocery store…"

"Dude. You sound pathetic." He shook his head and went to the kitchen. "While I'm here though, I'm gonna make some bacon."

"Okay…"

* * *

Leo and Hinata sat together on the couch. "So can you actually believe our old college band is getting back together?! Well, minus you, but still!"

"I guess that's pretty cool…"

Hinata rubbed his own neck. "Yeah… I guess the Troopas are over. But we had fun, right?"

"I guess."

"Man, River City Ransom and the Rockin' Troopas falling apart and then mixing into one, big super band! It'll be great! Uh, we still gotta think of a name though."

"Mm."

"We're gonna play at Fancy Soup. You should come!" Hinata offered.

Leo looked over. "That place isn't fancy and they don't serve soup. They serve eggplants!"

"That's the point!"

"…That's so stupid."

**And yet he came.**

Leo sat at a table in the restaurant with Oboro sitting beside him. She smirked. "Well look who came out of the house."

"Are you just going to mock me the whole time?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I came to hear the band."

"Mm."

"Say, you know that Tochika guy? Turns out he's setting up a second Duke's Palace here in Windmire," Oboro said. "Wasn't your last girlfriend dating him once?"

"Yeah, so?"

She shrugged. "I don't know! I just thought it might be useful information! Stop being like that! Whatever…" Oboro got up and left, allowing Selkie to sit where she was.

"Hi Leo!"

"Do people just tag in and out to talk to me anymore?" Leo asked. He shook his head. "Whatever. Hi Selkie."

"Leo, I've been busy most of this last month, but I heard about what happened," said Selkie. "I feel a little responsible for it."

Leo shrugged. "Meh. I think I sort of had it coming."

"Still… Hey, later this month, I'm moving."

"Huh?" He turned to face her. "What's going on?"

"I got accepted to U of C!"

"University of Cyrkensia?" Leo checked. Selkie nodded vigorously. "Huh. Well how about that?"

"So after this month… I won't be around here anymore. I'm really going to miss all of you. But I think I learned from this!"

Leo sighed. "Well, at least one of us made it out all right…"

Selkie frowned. "Hey… it'll work out, Leo. In some way or another, at least! I moved on, and you can too!" Her frown changed to a wince. "You were kind of a horrible boyfriend to me. But I can still think of you as a friend! Yeah, I'm just gonna enjoy being single for now."

"What happened to Young Dwyer?"

"Eh… It didn't really work out. We split after the whole River City Ransom thing. I was just trying to get you jealous."

Leo rasied his eyebrow. "You do know that Luna and Beruka are part of Hinata's new band, right? With Young Dwyer?"

" **:O** "

* * *

After the band performed, Leo remained alone at the same table, and a certain someone decided to sit across from him. "Been a while, Leo."

"Luna…"

The red-haired woman smirked. "It's funny, Jake's kid is a better bassist than you are."

"Well there you go."

"So, you still living with Niles?"

"No, I moved out in June. Then I moved in with… my girlfriend."

Luna winced. "Oh… Yeah… Hinata told me about that. Uh, sorry… I guess."

Leo raised his eyebrow. "You're apologizing?"

"I'm allowed!" Luna crossed her arms. "I don't know why you think I'm just always out to get you!"

Leo squinted. "Didn't you have my band open for yours so that your old boyfriend could beat me up?"

"Ugh… Yeah, okay. That was my bad. I made a lot of mistakes. But so did you!"

Leo's head began to hurt again. "I… I may or may not have."

Luna gave Leo a look. Not of her usual disgust, but this time… pity. "That's your problem, Leo. You always try to block out all your mistakes. Do you even remember how we broke up?"

"I… wore my shirt wrong."

"Ugh! No, it wasn't your shirt! I mean... I made a comment on it, but then you totally flipped out on me!"

"I did?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It hurt. I mean, you were a little drunk, but… I don't know, it just felt… It hit too close to home." She winced, and it was clear that this was not a pleasant memory. "So I… I did the same to you. And that was it."

"Hmm…"

* * *

**Walh-Art – Windmire's Museum of Historical Art**

Niles smirked. "These statues are naked. But somehow I'm not allowed to be."

"Don't be weird, Niles," Leo said.

"Hey, I'm just glad you agreed to come along for once!"

"I didn't know you even liked art. Are we really just here for the statues?"

"Of course not. There's a good café, but the lines are long, so we're looking around in the meantime."

"Mm." Leo decided to change the subject. "Hey. I ran into Luna the other day. She's starting a new band with Hinata."

"Yuck. I wonder if she's in cahoots with Izana."

"Izana?"

"Yeah. He's in town right now, didn't you know? The new Duke's Palace?" Niles asked. "He's even dating Luna right now! Huh, that makes two Evil Exes to go out with Luna. She sure knows how to pick 'em…" Niles looked over and saw Leo glaring at a portrait on the wall. It was a yeti eviscerating a pair of Hoshidan dragons. "You like that painting?"

"This painting is what Izana's doing to me."

"…I think you need a break."

* * *

**Windmire Bus Common**

"Niles, let go of me!"

The man himself struggled to shove Leo onto the bus. "You're going on this nature sabbatical and you're going to like it, Leo. Trust me! Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Y-"

"Don't answer that." Niles grinned. "Besides, you'll be able to clear your head and get ready for that big fight with Izana!"

"Niles, I don't want to fight him," Leo replied. "It's over. There's no reason to, now that Sa-"

"Bye! Call me when you're back in town!" He pushed Leo onto the bus and waved as it left.

* * *

**Macarath Outskirts – Xander's House**

Contrary to Leo's expectations, Xander lived in a suburban home. It was like something out of an old television show. Single-story, garage, porch, a nice car in the driveway, picket fence. Leo always knew his brother was old-fashioned, but this was ridiculous.

Leo stared at the cereal on the table before him, while Elise sat beside him. Across from the two of them sat their elder brother, a tall man with black (black-purple?) eyes in a business suit.

 **Name: Xander  
** **Status: New CEO**

"So Leo, I heard you found a job," Xander said.

"Yeah…"

"Good for you. I knew you'd find your way."

Elise smirked. "He just cooks for the university he used to go to."

"…Yep."

"Well, it's still honest work, that's nothing to be ashamed of."

Leo said nothing, so it fell to Elise to save this conversation. "Leo, did you hear about me? I got a job at the ice cream place! And I know what you're thinking, 'Oh that Elise, she's gonna eat all the ice cream!' But nope, I am a mature 20-year-old woman, and I can serve ice cream just fine!" She gave Leo a big smile, but he only shrugged. "…Leo, do you want to go on a walk?"

"Eh."

* * *

 **Macarath Woods  
** **Random Encounters: Flytrap Demon, Brigand, Boko Baba, Entombed (rare)**

Leo kept his hands in his pockets and slouched the whole time, while Elise challenged herself to balance on every log they came across. "Leo, what's wrong with you?"

"What do you think?"

Elise sighed. "Not that. I mean… what's wrong with _you?_ "

The brother squinted. "You're repeating yourself, Elise."

"Leo-"

"Look, I'm the big brother here. Are _you_ okay? You keep staying with our siblings, you got kidnapped by that ninja, you had to move here-"

"Leo, I'm just worried-"

"Great! My little sister is worried for me! Way to go, Leo, you can't even hold yourself together in front of Elise!" Leo kicked a pebble, and Elise observed the purple flames around his head. "I can't stop screwing up!"

"Leo, you did screw up, but I know you meant well!"

"What?"

Elise flinched. "Oh geez… Do you remember when you 'saved' me from that bully?"

…

_Leo sat at a lunch table alone, when another kid walked up to him. "You think you're hot stuff just 'cause you're Lex's little brother, don't you?!"_

_"What about it?"_

_"Wake up, man! Everyone's tired of you being such a snob! You're not better than the rest of us!"_

_"Are you done?"_

_"Are you done being a butthead?!"_

_Leo stood up. "I'll stop when you stop! Rrgh!" He immediately punched the other student in the face, knocking him down. "So you think I'm not good enough?! That I can't do anything on my own?!"_

_…_

"That wasn't a bully, Leo! I mean… yeah, he was a huge jerk, but… you were kind of a jerk back then, too." Elise held her hands behind her back. "I don't know why you told yourself you saved me from him, but you did. And… you believed it." She sat down on a nearby log. "Not right away, either. That's the weird part. You were always so grouchy, Leo. And jealous of Xander. It wasn't until after Luna that you started making up things about your life."

"…Forget it."

"Huh?"

Leo glared at her. "I said to forget it!" He ran past Elise and into a thicket. "And don't think I don't see you there!"

"Leo?!" Elise stood up and followed Leo. What she found was a startling sight- Leo was pinned to the ground by an alternate version of himself. "L-Leo, what is this?!"

**_NEGA LEO_ **

The Nega Leo was bathed in purple flames, and his crimson eyes bore into Leo's soul. "Grrr! Just leave me alone already! I… I'll destroy you! Then I can move on!" Leo cried.

"Is this… Leo, you know what this guy is?"

Leo struggled to free himself from his doppelganger. "Nothing I can't deal with! I can at least do that! Rrrgh!"

"Is he, like, your repressed emotions or something like that?!"

"I don't know and I don't care!"

"Leo!" Elise's stare hardened. "You can't just hide from yourself like that! If you keep forgetting every mistake you've made, you'll just make them over and over again!"

"I don't… want…. to remember!"

Then she got mad. "And I do?! You think everyone else is happy with all their mistakes?! That's why they're mistakes!"

"I've never been worth anything!" Leo called to her. "I've just been the throwaway brother! I didn't do anything! But I wanted to be something, so I acted like it! But that just made everyone hate me!" Nega Leo tightened his grip on Leo's wrists. "Ah! Then you and Scarlet roped me into that band… I wanted to think I was a musician, because at least I'd have some kind of talent… and I met Hinata and Selena… But Selena took control of everything… and I got fed up with it!"

Nega Leo curiously raised an eyebrow.

"The band was the one thing that made me worth anything! I didn't even like it, but it was mine and she took it from me! So I lashed out at her, and then she told me exactly what I already knew about myself!"

Elise said nothing.

"So I… I just got fed up with it. I looked up a spell to make myself forget everything... or alter my memories, or _something!_ And I guess it worked."

The sister gasped. "Leo… that… You and everyone always teased me about not growing up, Leo. But… why haven't you grown up?"

It was Leo's turn to be rendered silent. He looked up at his attacker, and the Nega Leo seemed to have the same expression now, of finally reaching his lowest point. The vulnerable man took a deep breath, forcing his doppelganger to disappear.

"…You're right. I said I was going to stop running... But I guess that includes myself, too... I'm sorry, Elise."

Elise smiled and went to help Leo stand up. He took her extended arm, and hugged her as soon as he made it up. She returned the favor. "It's okay, Leo. Now you know."

They split apart, and Leo rolled his shoulder. "Well, I feel better about my memories, at least. But… now what?"

Xander walked out of the bushes. "Now you go home and finish this."

"AAAH! Xander, what gives?!" Leo and Elise screamed at once.

"Uh… sorry," Xander said sheepishly. "Elise forgot her keys, so… I came to give them back… and didn't want to interrupt… Ahem, but you've done well, Leo. And I'm sorry if I made you feel lesser."

The younger brother nodded. "Thanks, Xander. And don't feel sorry." He and Elise shared a smile. "I was kind of a jerk."

* * *

**_Leo returns to Windmire for his finest hour!_ **

Leo threw the front door open in time to see-

"Turn off the light!"

"AAAH!"

…

Leo sat on the couch with Niles and Other Leo, with the cushions removed. "Really, guys?"

"We didn't know you'd be back so soon," Other Leo told him.

"And you didn't just go to your place because…"

"Hey, someone had to hold down the fort!" Niles joked.

"Whatever. Listen, is Duke's Palace open yet?"

"Probably, why-" Other Leo's question as cut off with a phone ring. **_Riiiiiiiiiing!_**

"Hm?" Leo picked up. "Who is this?"

" _Hey pal! It's me, Izana Tochika!_ "

Leo tensed up. He put the phone on speaker for Niles and Other Leo. "Izana? What do _you_ want?"

Other Leo's eyes bulged, and Niles just grinned.

" _I just wanted to say, I feel terrible about the whole 'Guild of Exes' thing._ "

"The League?"

" _Yeah whatever. But yeah, I was in a dark place when I put up that drunken Craigslist ad, I didn't think it'd actually work! But I figure now, I don't want any hard feelings. Why not be the bigger man and call a truce, y'know? C'mon, you can even come to my club tonight! It's opening night and the acoustics are AMAZING! Hey, remember Luna? Well we're totally together now, and her band's playing! I think you know them._ "

"AAARGH!"

" _Whoa, buddy! Take it easy!_ "

Leo winced, running a towel over his pants. Other Leo looked ashamed. "No, my stupid friend just spilled hot chocolate on my pants."

"Sorry."

" _Oh. Well yeah! C'mon, my club is awesome! And hey maybe you can learn a thing or two about music while you're there! Okay laters!_ "

Izana hung up, and Niles narrowed his eye. "Wow. What a jerk." He nodded. "Finish him."

…

Leo changed into a clean pair of pants. **_+100 pts!_**

Then he did a few dozen push-ups. **_+200 pts!_**

Then he equipped the Power of Love sword. **_+300 pts!_**

Then he calmly tied his shoes.

Leo kicked the front door open. **_+400 pts!_**

All set to go, Leo, Niles and Other Leo hopped into Niles' car to find Duke's Palace.

* * *

**Final Level: Duke's Palace (Windmire)**

Leo marched up to the door, with Niles and Other Leo following. A slacker held his hand out. "Wait. You gotta say the password."

"I was invited here!" Leo countered.

"Oh."

The three took the elevator down and found themselves in the center of a massive party. It was all a big dance floor with lights and sounds of all sorts. Food, cage dancers, arcade machines, Duke's Palace spared no expense. Niles and Other Leo got distracted and left, but Leo was okay. He had a mission, and headed for the black, flat-topped pyramid in the center of the chamber.

"Leo?" The young man found Shura sitting at a table. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh… I have to fight Izana. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Hinata's new band."

"Okay then." He kept going forward and ran into Oboro and Corrin.

"Leo?"

"What do you want?" Oboro asked. Corrin turned to her.

"Don't be rude!" She shook her head. "Leo, are you back from your… nature sabbatical or whatever Niles called it?"

"Yeah. I am. I have to go now."

"Did Xander and Elise have anything to say to me? Leo? Hello?"

Leo's march to the pyramid was once again halted, this time by Selkie. "Hi Leo!"

"Hi," her friend Velouria added.

"Huh? Oh. Hi Selkie. Hi… you."

"Velouria," the Wolfskin told him. "We've met only once."

"Okay. Gotta go."

Finally, Leo made it to the pyramid, and only then noticed Hinata, Young Dwyer, Luna and Beruka performing on a stage next to it. Hinata looked up. "Whoa! Leo, you made it! Dude, I know you're upset, but you can't let Izana have the satisfaction!"

"Well maybe _I_ want the satisfaction," Leo told him.

"HE-HEY! LEO'S HERE!" a voice called. Leo and the band all looked up and saw the man himself, sitting atop the pyramid in his white suit.

 **Name: Izana Tochika  
** **Status: Jerk**

Niles called over from a random table. "HEY LEO! THAT'S PROBABLY HIM!"

Izana walked down the stairs, arms extended and holding a cane. "Glad you could make it buddy! You wanna drink? I think tomato juice is one of our options!"

Leo glared and went up to meet Izana. "I don't want your drinks, Izana."

"What's the matter? I don't have a beef with you anymore."

"Well I do!"

**_BOSS: IZANA TOCHIKA_ **

Leo drew the Power of Love sword and the band started playing. Izana's cane became a sword and the fighters met each other. The two weapons locked and everyone in the club gathered to watch the fight. "Aw c'mon, you don't even like my palace?"

"Where is she?!" Leo demanded.

"Who, Luna? She's onstage, goof!" Izana's smile turned sinister as he backed off. Leo lost his balance, leaving him open to a spin attack. "HA!"

"Gah!" Leo stepped back and rolled his shoulder. "You know who I'm talking about! She disappeared and left behind that letter to you!" Leo let go of the sword with one hand to summon brambles to attack Izana. The club owner sliced them all in half before they could reach him. "Did you do that?!"

Izana blinked. "Wait… She left you?"

"Of course she did!"

"…Heh! He-heh! Hahahahahaha! Oh! Oh this is rich!" Izana dropped his weapon and clutched his stomach. "Oh man! Oh gods! I know I tried to lure you here under false pretenses, but I thought she'd at least be with you! But you screwed it up somehow! Wow, some competition you are." He shook his head, followed with a shrug. "You beat six of her exes, and she leaves you. But I guess in most cases, that's normal."

"We've both made our mistakes," Leo said. "And you're one of them!"

Izana chuckled. "Maybe. And one of yours was to show up here. HA!" He thrust his arms out and threw a purple fireball at Leo. The younger man winced and blocked with his sword, but it was too much for him! The Power of Love shattered in Leo's own hands, and the fireball knocked him to the floor. "Sucker!"

"Aaah… I just wanted to get this over with," Leo moaned. "She's not even here anymore, what's the point?"

"Ooh." Izana excitedly walked over to his prey. "So… She left you and you're feeling pretty upset, huh?"

"What do you think?"

Izana extended his hand. "In that case, why don't I let you in on the league? C'mon!"

"Screw you!"

"Harsh." Izana then shrugged. "Welp. Guess you screwed up." His extended hand turned into an open palm…

"AAAAAAAH!"

…as he incinerated Leo point-blank with his purple flames.

Hinata and Luna gaped in horror, as Young Dwyer's jaw dropped. Selkie gasped, and Velouria covered her eyes. Corrin shuddered and Oboro covered her mouth. Shura winced. Niles glared under his sunglasses, and Other Leo shook his head. And though she was not present, even Elise felt a shock.

"Heheheh…" Izana ominously walked all around Leo's corpse. "Good game."

**_GAME OVER_ **

.

.

.

.

.

_Leo lied on the ground in a blank void. "Alone… I died alone. I always knew it."_

_Then, Leo saw something in front of him. A white dress. Curiously, he sat up and saw the face of-_

_"Sakura…"_

_There she was, in a white dress and jacket. Leo almost mistook her for the background. The only colors were her hair, skin and the purse. "H-hi Leo… I heard what happened to you." She sat down next to him. "I'm sure dying isn't very pleasant…"_

_Leo shook his head. "Nope. Least of all to_ that guy _."_

_They sat together in silence for a long time. Eventually, Sakura faced him. "Leo… I'm sorry I left. But… I thought staying might've made things worse."_

_"Well… you did come back though, at least. You came to see me off one last time."_

_Sakura sighed. "I didn't come back for you. I came back for myself. To live with my mistakes. I… I'm sorry if that sounds inconsiderate."_

_"No, no… In fact, you're preaching to the choir on that one."_

_"Hmhmhm." Even now, Sakura's laugh calmed Leo. "I've always been the one to leave others behind. But not anymore. So that's why I forced myself to come back to apologize-"_

_Sakura could not finish her sentence. Leo had turned and grabbed Sakura's shoulders, and they kissed. Sakura closed her eyes, but soon pulled away. "Ah! L-Leo! I was trying to say-"_

_Leo interrupted her with another kiss. Like the first, she let it go on for a bit before stopping. "Okay, Leo!"_

_"Look, I forgive you already Sakura! I'm coming to terms with my past too! It's all water under the bridge now!" He sighed. "I just wish it were enough to accept my mistakes."_

_"Well, Leo… We have to try to fix things afterward," she told him. "What's the point of knowing your mistakes if you don't improve from them?"_

_"…Huh. I think I learned something. ...Too bad I'm dead."_

_Then the 1-Up of Leo's face reappeared, to both their surprise. "Ohhh! Your extra life!"_

_"Oh yeah! I picked one up a while back!" He looked over at Sakura. "If… if I go back, will you be there?"_

_Sakura nodded. "I told you I'm done running, Leo… I'll be there."_

_"Right. See you then."_

.

.

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.

.

Leo threw the front door open in time to see-

"Turn off the light!"

"AAAH!" Leo obliged, and shuddered. "I can't believe it reset me _there_ of all places. Didn't need to see that again today."

"…Again today?" Niles asked.

* * *

Niles and Other Leo watched from Sakura's couch, while Leo paced in front of them. He was on the phone. "Yeah? Connect me to Duke's Palace. Tell Izana that Leo's calling."

" _…Huh? Hey Leo! I was just about to cal-_ "

"Yeah whatever. Listen, I don't want hard feelings, so why not be the bigger man and call a truce, you know? How about I show up at your club tonight? It's opening, if I recall and I bet the acoustics are amazing. You're having Luna perform, right?" Leo grinned deviously.

" _Uhh… yeah?_ "

"Good. And maybe I can teach you thing or two about music while I'm there. And by 'teach you a thing about music' I meant I'm going to kill you!" Leo hung up.

Niles jumped up. "YEAH! That's what I'm talking about! I'll start the car!"

* * *

**Final Level: Duke's Palace (Windmire) – Round 2**

Leo marched up to the entrance, leading Niles and Other Leo behind him. Someone stopped him. "Password?"

"Shut up." **_+200 pts!_**

They went inside and down the elevator. Niles and Other Leo got distracted again, but Leo knew what he was doing.

"Leo?" Shura asked.

"Hey Shura. Enjoy Hinata's performance." **_+300 pts!_**

He passed Oboro and Corrin. "Huh?"

"Leo?"

"Hi Oboro and Corrin. I'm feeling good. Xander and Elise say hi." **_+400 pts!_**

Then Selkie and Velouria. "Hi Leo!"

"Hi."

"Hi Selkie, hi Velouria." **_+500 pts!_** "Selkie, let me just take a moment to say that I really was unfair to you and you deserved better. Good luck in college." **_+600 pts!_**

Finally, the stage. Hinata looked up. "Whoa! Leo, you made it! Dude, I know you're upset-"

"I know what I'm doing. Hinata, you guys sound better without me, keep up the good work." **_+700pts!_** "Young Dwyer, you've learned well. From this moment on, you'll be known as… _Dwyer_." **_+800pts!_**

He gasped.

 **Name: Dwyer  
** **Status: Having the best day of his life**

"And Luna," Leo stopped. "I'm sorry about everything. I was angry, but I went too far, and you were completely right about me." **_+900pts!_**

Luna's eyes went wide. "H-huh? Oh… Th-thanks…"

"HE-HEY, LEO'S HERE!" Izana called. Leo knowingly glanced at him. The club owner began descending the pyramid. "Glad you could-"

"Shut up." Leo went to meet him. "Your club sucks. You're a tool. And I have beef. Let's fight!" **_+1000pts!_**

"What for?" Izana asked. "…For Sakura?"

"No. For me!"

A blue version of the Power of Love then emerged from Leo's chest.

 **LEO EARNED THE POWER OF SELF RESPECT!**  
**Guts +18**  
**Heart +20**  
**Smarts +13  
** **Will +22**

**_FINAL BOSS: IZANA TOCHIKA_ **

The band played and everyone gathered to see Leo go straight for Izana. The club owner unsheathed his cane to reveal a sword of his own, but instead of locking blades, the Power of Self Respect cut Izana's weapon in half, and wounded Izana. "Aaah!"

"Dead on!"

**_GET READY!_ **

Time slowed to crawl and Leo swung his blade repeatedly, cutting Izana well over forty times. When he finished, he kicked Izana in the gut, knocking him a few meters back. The Evil Ex struggled to lift his head.

"Aaah! You… jerk!" Izana fell limp.

**_+7000 pts!_ **

Everyone cheered. Izana opened his normally squinty eyes and got back up, arms coated in purple flames. He prepared to attack Leo, but was shot in the back with an wind arrow. "Gaaah!"

Leo and Izana both turned around and found Sakura aiming Fujin Yumi. Izana scowled. "You…"

"…Me."

"Well then. Let's wrap it up!" Izana clapped his hands and his pyramid's flat top opened. A strange machine ascended, revealing seven cryonic tubes. All but one were occupied by women of different types.

**_Izana's own "evil" exes!_ **

"What… is that?" Corrin asked more to herself than Oboro.

Dwyer blinked. "…Guys, don't judge me, but this is kinda hot."

Hinata and Luna looked at him.

**Judgement Level: Maximum**

"Hahahahahaha!" Izana held his hands out, marveling at his machine. "These are the women who don't know a good man when they see one! They thought they could just walk away from me! I'm descended from the gods, what more do they want?!" He shrugged. "So I froze them indefinitely. Ah… Now that the mood is ruined, guess I'll ruin it further!" Izana planted both hands on the ground and every person in the crowd began glowing with purple flames, all except for Leo and Sakura. "Oh what?! Come on already!"

"I don't think so! My head's too clear for that!"

"And so is mine!"

"Never mind…" Izana recalled the flames and began storing them into a ball.

"Why do you even care, Izana?!" Sakura cried. "When we were together, you barely spoke to me!"

"Because I'm Izana Tochika, and I don't answer to anybody!" He threw the fireball at Sakura. She tried to jump out of the way, but she was too slow and got hit.

"Aaaaah!"

"Sakura!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped. Niles shook his head. "What a jerk."

**Jerk Level: Maximum**

Leo ran over to Sakura's side and helped her get back up, to Izana's amusement.

"Hey, she's been ripping off my invention for years, she had it coming!" Leo stared at him. "You know, the purple fires?" The younger man's eyebrow quirked. "Okay, it's like this: in my youth, I explored the Bottomless Canyon, that one between here and Hoshido? I found these ancient ruins floating in the sky or something. And there were these crazy purple monsters there!"

"…Okay…"

"So I harnessed their power and put my own spin on it! Emotional warfare, baby!" He clapped his hands. "Oh yeah! It also lets me hop between dimensions! Sakura's been using that trick for a while before I met her. So I taught her a few things and boom-bam! Dunno how she harnessed it herself. I guess she just hated herself enough that she was able to use the fires to her advantage."

Sakura finally stood up, and nodded. Leo let her go. "Sh-shut up Izana… Our whole relationship… was some kind of joke for you, huh? J-just to play with your invention!"

Dwyer looked over at Hinata. "Wait, how much older than Sakura is this guy?"

"Uh… Shoot."

Sakura clutched her head. "This… this sucks, Leo." He raised his eyebrow at the strong (for Sakura) language. "He's been in my head since I met him…"

"He does leave a strong impression."

"I mean literally."

Leo blinked. "…Oh gods!" He snatched Sakura's purse and began to search through it. "C'mon… c'mon… Ah!" He pulled out the crystal ball. "There we go!"

"Leo?"

Leo held the crystal to his heart and vanished.

* * *

_From the Astral Plane's fortress, Leo looked around. "Uh… where do I go? I thought I could get into Sakura's head like she got into mine!"_

_"Hey buddy, looking for me?!"_

_Leo turned around and found a taller, more muscular Izana carrying his own Power of Love. "Hahahaha! I thought I'd save you the trouble. Look, Sakura's here too!" Izana reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink, crystalline heart. "And her heart belongs to me! Literally!"_

_"That's it!"_

_"What, you're gonna fight me? Dude, I'm descended from gods and I'm on the Astral Plane! If that's too much for your tragically Nohrian brain, then I just don't know what to-"_

_"Would you just shut up?!" Leo ran at Izana with the Power of Self Respect ready. The Evil Ex grew taller and more monstrous as Leo approached, but the man did not back down. "I will erase you!"_

_He leapt into the air cut Izana down the center in one motion._

**_POOF!_ **

_Izana returned to his normal form, and clutched his head in pain. He dropped the heart and in a flash of light, Sakura appeared in its place._

_"Ugh… Sakura? Babe?"_

_"Don't call me that!" The white-clad woman faced the ground, where a small fragment of the crystal heart remained. "Maybe a part of me, a part deep down, will still be yours." She then gave Izana the fiercest glare she had ever given._

_"But all the other parts of me are done with you! I'm going to live, Izana! And my new life doesn't include you!"_

_A blue sword appeared in Sakura's hands._

**_SAKURA EARNED THE POWER OF SELF RESPECT (too)!_ **

_She swung the blade and cut the phantom Izana in half. "NOOOO!"_

**_FLASH!_ **

* * *

Back in the club, Leo and Sakura stood in their original positions, and Izana glared at them. "Sakura, come on! It took me three hours to figure out how to use the flames to amplify people's self-doubt! _Three hours!_ You just don't realize how cool I am!" He stared at all the angry spectators. "Apparently nobody does! But who cares! I'll make everyone see what I'm worth, whether they like it or not!"

With a gasp, Leo stared at Izana in horror.

"What?! What's your problem?!"

Leo shook his head. "Izana, I think I understand you… Which is why I have to kill you."

"Tch. Wrong move, baby."

Izana struck a pose and conjured a digital katana in his own hands.

 **IZANA EARNED THE POWER OF BEING A COMPLETE PIECE OF TRASH!**  
**Hair +49**  
**Style +49**  
**Cockiness +49  
** **Divinity +49**

Leo and Izana began their final battle. Izana cockily used only one hand, smirking the whole time. Leo swung to his left, and Izana blocked. Leo went for the right, and Izana turned away from Leo and held his sword over his back to block Leo's sword. "Heh."

Izana spun around with a horizontal slice, but Leo quickly dodged underneath to avoid it. When the blade passed, Leo stood back up and swung again, but Izana managed to block this one too. "Hahahahaha- AH!"

**2-PLAYER MODE!**

Izana turned around to find that Sakura had done the deed. "You… you made me swallow my gum! It'll be in my digestive tract for _seven years!_ " He flipped the sword reverse and smacked her with the hilt. **_-200 pts!_**

"Oof!"

Then kicked her in the gut, knocking her down! **_-300pts!_**

"Aaaaah!"

"Why you….!" Enraged, Leo took his chance to hit Izana in the back.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Sakura stood back up hit Izana with an uppercut slash. "Hya!"

"Ohhhhh!"

Leo and Sakura nodded to each other and hit Izana with a special attack: they both charged at Izana from opposite angles and cut through him in an X pattern.

**Double Tech: X Strike**

With the attack finished, Izana's weapon flickered out of existence. "Cocky little freaks! I'm cooler than all of you! I'm divine! What's your excuse?!" The Powers of Self Respect transformed into blue flames coating Leo and Sakura's hands. They turned back, scowling.

"What?!"

**GET READY!**

"Oh no."

**HERE WE GO!**

Leo and Sakura ran back over to Izana and took turns punching him in rhythm. Leo rolled along the ground to Izana's other side in order to trap him. Sakura threw a punch. + ** _700 pts!_** Leo threw one. **_+800 pts!_** Sakura kicked him. **_+900 pts!_** Leo used the Shoryuken. **_+1000 pts! GOOD!_**

Leo and Sakura strafed around Izana, hitting him in their continued rhythm. **_GOOD! GOOD! GREAT! COMBO UNLOCKED!_**

Leo grabbed Izana by the waist and flipped him over, throwing him to the ground, and allowing Sakura to kick his head hard enough to turn it.

"Gaaaw!"

**_PERFECT!_ **

"Ughhh…." Izana slowly got onto his knees. "You think… you're better than me…! But… your worst enemies… are really yourselves!"

Leo and Sakura stared at him. The pink-haired woman shook her head. "No… No, it's you."

"I concur."

"…Nuts."

Winding up his fist, Leo threw one final punch, slamming Izana's head onto the floor and creating a giant explosion of coins.

**_KO!_ **

**_+7, 000, 000, 000 pts!_ **

**_LEO and SAKURA win!_ **

Everyone cheered at the massive rain of coins… until they realized that several coins falling from a high space was very painful. Hinata looked over to Luna. "Hey, weren't you and Izana kind of a thing?"

"He was a jerk anyway. I'm over it," Luna said.

"Oh. Gum." Dwyer leaned down and picked up an errant piece of gum. "Waste not, and all that." He put it in his mouth.

"Dude! Dwyer, that was in Izana's mouth!" Hinata warned him.

"It's too late for me, Hinata."

In the audience, Shura blinked. "Uh… should someone get those frozen chicks out of that machine?"

* * *

Some amount of time later, the girls were all freed from Izana's device, and oddly nonchalant about the whole thing. Elsewhere, everyone gathered around Leo and Sakura at one of the tables.

"Sakura, that was crazy!" Oboro told her. "I mean… you were there, but… you know…"

Niles smirked. "Congrats, kids. Ya did it! You sorted through your emotional crap!"

Corrin put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I knew you guys could do it. But, uh… when you disappeared, then Sakura disappeared, what happened exactly?"

"Oh, that?" Leo rolled his eyes, trying to find an explanation. "Well… I went onto the Astral Plane to try and get into Sakura's head and stop whatever Izana was up to. But he just sort of met me halfway and we fought for a bit. Then Sakura got a sword like I did and we teleported back."

Sakura slowly nodded. "That's about right…"

"…Huh. Okay." Corrin shrugged, finally accepting that Leo had a weird life. "But Sakura, what about you? Where'd you disappear to?"

All eyes were on her. "Uh… You all want to know?" Everyone nodded, even Leo. Especially Leo. Sakura let out a sigh. "It… wasn't anywhere special or anything. I just… I went back home. I was going to talk to my big brothers and sister, and they suggested I go on some kind of nature walk or something."

Niles gave Leo a smug look under his shades.

"But… I just kind of moped. My sister had to force me to go outside." She blushed and gave everyone an awkward smile. "So… that was my August…"

"Hahahahaha! Oh man!" Niles took his sunglasses off to wipe a tear from his eye. "Sakura, Leo, you two are cut from the same cloth."

Corrin shook her head, smiling. "Two peas in a pod."

* * *

On the elevator ride back up, Leo and Sakura embraced each other. It had been a long night. They broke off, after a bit, but still held hands. "So, now what? Does everything go back to how it was?" Leo asked.

"I… I don't want it to," answered Sakura. She looked him in the eyes. "It… it's easy when things stay the same. But… they can't. Whenever my family would get comfortable in life, something would be taken away from us… our dad… our mom… Things kept changing all the time. So I guess I tried to force things to change, by constantly running away and doing different things." She winced. "That if I could make things change on my own, it somehow wouldn't hurt as much."

"Sakura, I… I never knew about…"

"My parents?" She collapsed into another hug. "It's not something I like to talk about… But we probably should've gotten to know each other a bit better, huh?"

"Yep…" Leo comfortingly ran his hand along her back. "I finally realized my memories were fake. I kind of felt like Izana. I had a lot to prove to everyone. That's how I got into fights, learned to be the toughest guy in Windmire, and even how I got into music." He shrugged. "But, hey. Now we can try again."

"Starting over…"

"Yeah."

They smiled warmly, slowly bringing their lips closer, until they finally kissed.

* * *

**AND SO…**

Leo and Hinata walked through the parking lot outside the university. "Man, you owned it in the kitchen today!"

"Heh. Well the ingredients certainly helped."

Shura opened the door to his car and got out. "Hinata."

"Yo Shura!"

Then to Leo's surprise, they briefly kissed. "Uh, what?!"

Hinata looked over. "Wait, you didn't know?!"

"NO!"

"Oh…" Hinata blushed. "Yeah, I… kinda figured out I liked Shura. I thought I told you... Must've been while you were moping."

"Huh…" Leo put a finger to his chin. "Suddenly a few more things make sense. Well... good for you, man."

"Now can we just get some lousy pizza?" Shura asked.

...

Leo and Dwyer smirked as they carried boxes into Corrin's apartment. "I think this makes me the last of our siblings you haven't lived with yet, Elise."

"Oh be quiet!"

Dwyer raised his eyebrow. "What happened to the ice cream place?"

Elise smiled confidently. "They relocated me to the branch in Windmire! Now you'll see me every Saturday!"

"I guess I will."

…

Leo and Selkie stood together at the bus stop. "I'm going to miss you, Leo. But I've moved on."

"Good for you, Selkie. And I meant what I said before. Good luck in college."

She sniffled and wrapped her arms around Leo. "Th-thanks, Leo! I'll always remember our time together. You'll always be my River City Ransom!"

**(whatever that means)**

* * *

That evening, at Windmire Dusk Park, Leo ascended the stairs and met Sakura. "Hey."

"Hey," she returned.

"Are… are we ready to start over?"

Sakura nodded and gave a big grin.

"Yes."

Leo smiled back.

Hand in hand, Leo and Sakura walked down the path…

…and into their future.

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**[STORY MODE CLEAR!]**

**[THE END!]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. Leo and Sakura have reunited and they (as well as their circle of friends) are entering a new time in their lives.
> 
> The Fancy Soup restaurant is a reference to SIGF, an author friend of mine. Her claim to fame is the Leo/Sakura fic, Portal. Eggplants are an inside joke. And we get to Leo's somewhat reconciliation with Luna. In the movie, Envy is an obstacle for Scott, and she's gone after Todd is beaten. But in the comics, she returns for the final volume, and tells Scott that he wasn't blameless in their breakup. They both really hurt each other. I prefer that interpretation, Envy comes across more human in that way. Aaand Xander finally makes his appearance! No Garon, but now of Leo's siblings have arrived in the story. It seems good that Xander is a character to be (slightly) built up, and then only appear once near the end.
> 
> Nega Leo... I wanted to play it up like the movie version of Nega Scott. But it wouldn't work with the scene. Leo finally develops and confronts his past- he was so torn up and frustrated with himself, that he used a spell to alter his memories. Is that like a replacement for drug usage? I wonder... And then the Duke's Palace fights. As for Gideon, it's Izana. I explained before, but Movie!Gideon has just a fun personality, and since he owns a club, I felt like Izana would be a good choice for the role.
> 
> I even make use of his backstory and some of the game's lore for his motivations. The final battle with Izana plays out more like the comic, though Leo's second trip through the palace and some of the choreography is based more on the movie. Though Sakura helps Leo fight instead of Knives. It just makes more sense. I also work in the deleted scene where Leo calls Gideon and just steals the words from his mouth. That was too good to miss. And Leo namedrops Water Under the Bridge by Anghelic, because if she doesn't, I will.
> 
> Also, have you noticed that I have not used Sakura's name in this story for the entire time of her absence? (Minus her letter to Izana). I hoped that would make it feel more like she was really gone.
> 
> Not much to say about the whole ending sequence. It's basically the same as in the comic. I did give more backstory to Sakura, and tied more pieces of Leo's backstory together. I kind of like how it turned out, there.
> 
> And with that, I am done. I hope you enjoyed this. This whole project gave me... well I feel the same about Leo and Sakura as I did before. The other authors' did better than me, I think. But I had a lot of fun, and I appreciate Scott Pilgrim much more. This was a blast.
> 
> If you want to see me writing something more Fates-y, you can check out Gray Whirlpool. It's my long-running Fates plot parody, and I just finished the Birthright and Conquest fics today! Warning, it will be long.
> 
> Or better yet, you can go look at other authors, see what they have to offer.
> 
> See you next time.


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